You're Makin' Me
by pantedgieQueen13
Summary: You’re makin’ me crazy, takin’ me To new heights. Baby I Just can’t get enough. Sweet thing, You’re makin’ me rough. You Make me laugh, you make me cry. You Frankly make me wonder why. But All in all, what can I say? You Are my love, and I am your day. T
1. Part I

**Part I**

_You're makin' me crazy, takin' me_

_To new heights. Baby I_

_Just can't get enough. Sweet thing,_

_You're makin' me rough. You_

_Make me laugh, you make me cry. You_

_Frankly make me wonder why. But_

_All in all, what can I say? You_

_Are my love, and I am your day._

The wooden door was swung haphazardly open, leading to a polished wood floor and a bed tilted against the wall like a stick of butter. Slept-in sheets and comforters sprawled all over the bed itself, but this bed is not empty. A lone form lays, belly up, amongst this chaos, breathing fitfully but peacefully, as the form is deep in slumber. Suddenly, the form stirs, groaning into life.

Sonic the Hedgehog tossed his head over the side of the bed and threw up into a bucket conveniently placed beside him. "Yuck." He moaned, spitting some more vomit into the plastic bucket before weakly rising from the bile-fest and, arms shivering under his weight, pulled the covers up to his chin.

Now, he shouldn't be hungry-heck, he shouldn't even have an appetite!-after throwing up for twelve hours (it was more or less this length of time), but he regretted to tell himself that he was. In fact, he was worse than hungry. He was _starving_. His stomach was so empty, and his sickness would allow him no reprieve, that he could barely move. He was bitter cold and burning hot at the same time, his mind racing like a superfast locomotive back and forth, back and forth, careening in his head. And every once in a while, that locomotive exploded, forcing Sonic to cry out in pain at the migraine headache. He felt like he was dying, and indeed, he probably was.

"_Ohah_," He complained, blinding himself with one ice cold, ungloved hand. It was becoming increasingly embarrassing for him, that he, the fastest thing alive, was confined to a bed and could barely roll over from one side to the other, much less run a mile from here to there and be back before thirty seconds was up. He felt his fever rage like a fire through his body, but it was a cold fire, made from white and pale blue ice, and it froze his joints completely, making his hot blood run cold like a river in winter. Trembling, he rolled over, tucking his knees against his chest, and pulled the sheets and blankets further around him. His eyes closed, but darted fitfully around in the blackness before shooting open again.

With a sharp breath and sudden strength, he propelled himself upward from the bedclothes and fluffy pillows, panting. His heart was racing. "Eggman! I've got to go, to protect…" he paused, remembering. He smelled the bile in the bucket, and winced as he bent over it again and released more watery, and faintly bloody, vomit from his bowels. He leaned back against the pillows, shivering, and a growl lingered in his parched, nasty-tasting throat.

He _couldn't_ fight Eggman, he _couldn't_ protect his friends and the planet he loved so well, because he _couldn't_ get up from his bed, and he _couldn't _stop vomiting. Besides, he reasoned with himself, he was _far_ too weak to take down whatever deranged 'bot that old Egghead had in store for today.

Not to mention he'd been throwing up nonstop since three o'clock in the afternoon yesterday. And it was almost lunchtime now.

"Lunchtime." Sonic mused, licking his lips and rubbing his tummy with his palms. Oh, he was _ever_ so hungry! He was faint, he was cramping up, with the hunger tearing up his insides as a cat will tear up its scratching post! He wanted nothing more than to eat all the chilidogs he could until he was half asleep from the fullness the meaty snack would give him!

But, he groaned, defeated. No matter how much his stomach might rumble, might beg, might plead to be filled and fed, he knew that to feed and fill it would only place all the more bile in that bucket, and he would be back at square one again. But, knowing that couldn't stop his desire. He still wanted to be fed as much as his poor tummy did. "Oooohh," he moaned, curling up. He was very much determined to go back to sleep, perhaps to dream of a full belly (which he considered to be a gift of the gods at this point) and better days.

But no sooner had he closed his eyes and had watched like being at a 3-D movie without proper eyewear his newest and most fantastic, psychedelic fever dreams yet to grace his dizzied mind, he then heard footsteps coming up his stairs.

Sonic was confused. Who would visit? He lay there on his side, curiously staring at the worn wooden stairs, running through his mind all the people who could possibly want (or dare) to visit him. Knuckles' footsteps didn't sound so light; he pounded down hard on the stair (Sonic's head thumped painfully briefly to think on the noise), Tails would just fly up the stairs…it couldn't be Rouge, he was screwed if it was Shadow…

Then a delicious smell hit him like an eight-ton truck. Suddenly, he was immersed in a field of wild flowers, smelling the distinct, sweet scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, still mushy from the oven; now _that_ made his stomach roar! But, as he was trying to calm his noisy insides, he realized exactly who that smell meant had braved germs and nasty vomit to visit him.

It was Amy.

"Amy." Sonic spoke in a heated, throaty whisper, gathering all of his strength to stand, pick up the full bucket and run, without spilling it, across the hall to the bathroom, empty it, wash it out, and get back before she had any clue he was gone.

Now, marvelously, Sonic had learned to move quite fast without anything in his stomach, faster than he could go on a full tank. But, this power could not be used often. He could not go far so fast running on an empty gas tank, simply because after the first mile he would get dizzy, and then maybe after the third mile, he would pass out from exhaustion. He also had little to no sense of direction, so if he was trying to get to his house in this way, he could end up in a desert. It was not often he summoned this amazing, short-lived power, but he so just now.

He cleaned out the bucket and traveled back just in time, because Amy was at the top of the steps. Sonic, standing by his bed after the energy-stealing super run, let out a short breath and collapsed into the sheets below. After giving himself a moment, he tugged the covers up around him again, moving back into the warm spot in the center of the bed, cuddling the blankets around his neck as Amy came into view. He managed to sit up weakly, tossing a half-smile her way.

"I thought Tails said no one would bother me." He rasped jokingly. "I don't need company. What are you doing here?"

"I came to take care of you." While Sonic's voice refused to have the energy to hold its usual character, Amy's was all the more alive, as her whole body seemed to be in comparison to Sonic's weak, sickly body. Amy pitied him, once so indefatigable, and now so poorly. She wanted to do anything to ease his suffering. "I'll start by easing a little food into your temperamental tummy." Sonic flushed, hearing her say the word, and her giggle told him she'd noticed, much to his chagrin. "Here. This should help." She tossed him a bag of saltine crackers.

Sonic sniffed at the dry, nearly tasteless food, and set it aside. He was starving beyond reason, however he didn't want to risk throwing up again. _Especially_ in front of Amy, whom he knew to be particularly turned off by vomit. Part of the reason her career path had not been nurse-hood. Amy spied his reluctance and laughed.

"Don't worry, Sonic. Saltines are good for upset tummies. They won't make you barf." Sonic glared at her, unsettled. "They won't!" She protested fussily. "Cross my heart and hope to thump Egghead with my hammer!"

That made him laugh as he reached to take a tentative bite of one cracker. When nothing happened, he grinned and made short work of the remainder, a smile of satisfaction crossing not only his lips but his features as he traditionally crossed both hands behind his head, reclining into his pillows, eyes closed in a bliss.

It felt so good to feel food in him, Sonic could shout and scream and celebrate as if he'd just received a coveted award. But he didn't, naturally. He just lay in his bed, relaxing. He finally felt that he could, at long last, settle down and rest.

Amy giggled when she turned to look at him. "Feeling better with a little food in you, huh?" She teased.

"More than you know." Sonic responded, his voice smooth and silky. Amy smiled.

"Well, I must confess that I can't do much for you, save sit here and talk with you. You did part of my job for me, I think…" She was hinting about him cleaning up the bile, which made his heart jump into his throat.

Sonic swallowed it back down again, shrugging. "How do you know? I might actually be feeling better."

"How do I know, eh?" Amy mimicked, perched on the edge of his bed. "Let's see…I can think of a couple of reasons." Her eyes glinted in a teasing manner as she crossed her legs under her. "Reason number one: chilidogs."

Sonic winced and snuggled back down underneath the covers again. Comfort gone. He was feeling sick again. "Don't, Amy." He mewed weakly like a sick cat.

"Reason two, you absolutely refused to devour the crackers I gave you at first sight. And reason three…" She trailed off, seeing Sonic had been reduced to a lump under the covers. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sonic. I didn't mean it."

"No, no, you're right." His head appeared and he smiled limply, his eyes flickering like a candle trying to stay lit in pouring rain. "It's cool."

"I'm sorry." Amy repeated, leaning in to get close to him. "I didn't want to do this to you." She was resting against his body under the covers, this part being his chest, tears falling onto the comforter. Sonic felt the tears through the sheets and stroked her quills.

"Oh, Amy," he soothed. "I know. Please don't cry. It's all right. Don't cry, now. Shh." His trembling arms were quick to embrace her, despite the chill this wracked his body with. They lay there resting against each other for a few moments until Amy felt his breathing become slow and even. He was asleep.

Amy wriggled her way out of his arms, tucking them beneath the covers again. Then, after leaving a few bags of saltine crackers on his bedside table for him, she gathered up her stuff and went swiftly back to her house.


	2. Part II

**Part II**

"Please, I know you can do something for him."

"I am not sure if I believe you. Sonic is quite durable, a quality which makes him increasingly annoying…"

The female rolled her eyes. "_Seriously_ though. If there's something you want, I can get it to you no problem."

"The gold buckle from his sneakers." Smirked the black male, and it amused him to see that upset and silenced her, at least momentarily.

"Okay, anything that _I_ own." She rephrased.

"I do not need anything. I would simply just rather not do it."

"He's sick, and I'd like to know why." She pressed, touching his black and red elbow. "Please. Please, Shadow. For me?" She fluttered her eyelashes in a flirtatious way.

Shadow the Hedgehog grumbled to himself incoherently as he reached into his quills for the green Emerald he had stored there. "Okay." He grumbled, tapping reluctantly into the Chaos Emerald's power. "Here goes nothing."

The Emerald flashed a vibrant blue-green, jumping up in his hand like a bunny with hiccups, before becoming duller and falling to his hand. Shadow closed his fingers over the Emerald and placed it back within his quills, Amy barely breathing as she waited for an answer.

Shadow waited until he could feel her impatience reach its zenith. He didn't like helping people, especially the devoted-to-an-idiot (not to mention his _rival_) insane, passionate girl Sonic somehow found time for, and he was not about to give her what she wanted so easily. When her fingers were boiling at his inability to comply against his wrist, he slowly began. "He is, for the most part, unscathed."

Amy let out a huge sigh of relief and brushed off her dress, preparing to stand. "Phew! Oh, _thanks_, Shadow, I--"

"Wait." Shadow held up a finger. "I am _not finished_. He _is_ harmed somewhat physically by his illness, but the disease itself will mostly hurt his mentality." When she seemed confused and speechless, he had no choice but to elaborate. "Namely, it is possible the disease will change who he is."

Amy gasped, tears coming to the corner of her eyes. It was impossible to think of her Sonic as being—she gulped—a different person! He just wouldn't be Sonic if he wasn't cocky, self-centered, but amazingly heroic like he was now. She hadn't sensed much change that wouldn't reverse when he was well again! What could Shadow mean?

The dark hedgehog gave a long, frustrated sigh and Amy turned her attention on him again. "You need not worry. Sonic will probably be on his feet in a few days."

"The flu lasts longer than that!" Amy cried in protest as Shadow stood to leave. "Shadow! The Emerald has to be wrong!"

Shadow ignored her for a moment, absently ruffling his fur and brushing himself off, pointedly rejecting her girlish cries for aid. Finally, he spoke again, over her teary pleas. "I must go now. You are a great hindrance and I have work to do." As he turned to engage his rocket shoes, he turned back to look over his shoulder at the distressed female. "Oh, and by the by, I did not say Sonic would be _healed_ when he arises to his feet." And he engaged the rockets in his sneakers louder than they usually were, making a point to be agitated, and flew off, strands of grass moving along like ripples on the water's surface after him.

Amy stood staring after him like someone who has been temporarily blinded by a bright light. She was dazed, completely out of it. Her world had just been flashed by a meteor so bright it blinded the darkness in her proverbial sky. His words, spoken so emotionlessly, affected her more than anything else so far in her lifetime had. It shocked her to hear him talk about Sonic…like he honestly didn't care if Sonic came out of this whole ordeal in a blue velvet-lined black casket.

"_You need not worry. Sonic will be on his feet in a few days._

"_**But**__ I did not say he would be well when he arises."_

Sonic? Not well? He wasn't doing so good right now. She had little clue as to exactly how bad he was feeling, but if he could get exhausted by doing the smallest of things, if he was still so afraid to eat, if he was drifting in and out of feverish territory…it gave her a migraine to think on possibilities of Sonic feeling those things while he had to _fight_, to _endure_ breathtaking feats, to _survive_.

She knew she could not. And she had seen that Sonic, as indefatigable and ubiquitous as he might be, had his limits. And though they did not come easy, they could come on fast when he was weak or bruised or sick. Heretofore, he had not been as sick as he was now. Amy considered this sickness to hit him hard in every weak spot, like the Metarex had done on that gods-forsaken trip into outer space.

And Amy was inexplicably worried. Her friends usually had a fear that Amy was a classic, motherly worry-wart when it came to Sonic. Her fussing usually ended in jokes and teasing rebukes and laughter, most of which would come from Sonic himself.

"_He'll be okay. He does this all the time."_

"_He's __**Sonic**__. He'll come out alive, no biggie!"_

"_Sonic is Sonic. He can handle __**anything**__ that's thrown at him!" _

That one confounded Amy. _Anything_? Did that include an illness that had reached such severity that there was little hope in palliating it?! Nevermind actually _healing_ him completely! As she walked, consumed by these thoughts, she was pulled like a hooked fish into another memory, of a quote Sonic had said himself.

It was on the Blue Typhoon, after he had been electrocuted by that giant, shimmering star shield. She was protesting his getting up off the bed, begging him to sleep, to rest. He had raised his eyes to hers, placing a warm and slightly singed tan hand delicately over her wrist.

"_Amy? I __**gotta**__. Everyone needs me, Amy. I don't have a choice."_

"I don't have a choice." Amy spoke his quote. Was this true? She didn't have much time to ponder on it, before coming to an answer. And her answer was one she would have severely liked to change, even if it meant rewriting Sonic's entire life from Day One like a god of creation.

Of course it was true. Sonic didn't have a choice. He was bound in heavy leaden chains to the huge bowling ball called heroism. Everything he was, all of his characteristics, his face, his speed, even his bright blue fur he was so proud of…_everything_. Everything he was, that he owned, was tied to that heroism.

Sonic wouldn't dare trade those chains for anything.

But, Amy, concerned for his safety once again, would melt away those chains, even if it meant the sacrifice of her own life.

Somehow, she figured that none if her friends would dare to tease her _this_ time for being a worry-wart.

This was _way_ past serious.

_Wheee!!!! So this is coming along well! I can't wait to see what you guys think of it!!!! Please drop me a review!!! Man, I LOVE this series!!!!_


	3. Days Go By

_I came up with names for the first two parts!!!!! Since I discovered this will be a series, I decided to show off my creativity by naming the parts, since boring "part I, part II" just don't suit me. And they probably don't suit your expectations for my writing either. Part names are as follows._

_Part I: Bespeckled (that IS a real word!!!) Visions_

_Part II: Odious Shadow_

_Hope you enjoy the next installment and I pray you'll stay with me until the very end!_

**Part III: Days Go By**

Days passed. Since Amy had last gone to visit him, no one had seen Sonic. No one dropped in to say hi, no one saw him leave the house. It was obvious blue wasn't about to let that bother them, but his friends wove quite a different yarn. One with a frame that trembled and skipped over itself, as if a frantic maiden was working the loom, out of anxiety, horror…fear.

Three things that hardly ever captivated _anyone_ who knew Sonic, and knew him well.

"He called me last night, just to check in." Tails leaned all his weight on his elbows against the silvery gray stone, brushing away some beetle too close in proximity to him for his liking and looked promptly skyward, trying to act cool and collecting though it was obvious he was bluntly the opposite. "He's…" He chuckled nervously, forcing out the laughter. "He's—it surprises me, and yet it doesn't—he's just soooo…Slack!" The fox barked. "It's as if he didn't know…he talked, you know, asked me how things were going with Eggman…"

Things were uneasily quiet on the mad genius' end, presentiments of something heinous, characterized by iniquity to top it off. Everyone was on their toes, waiting. No one, not even frigid Shadow, slept deeply knowing this.

Tails continued without hope of being interrupted. "…Went on and on, asked about all of us, joked…" Tails paused, waiting for a reaction. Knuckles was twisting his forefinger around a sprout growing out between two stones, and Amy was daydreaming into the horizon. They had joined Knuckles at his post, guarding the Master Emerald along with him, keeping him and each other company, attempting to starve off any thoughts about what Eggman's new mechanical madness could be and what horrors it would cause. The fox cleared his throat and continued. "He had to hang up early, because he had to pause too much during the conversation to throw up." Tails sighed heavily in defeat. "I don't know if he'll _ever_ get back to the field at this rate."

"Is there any hope of palliating his condition?" Knuckles looked up, glaring straight into the young fox's sub-conscious.

"None that I know or can think of." Tails responded, his voice dead and lifeless, as if coming from the grave.

The two boys sighed loudly and a long silence fell over the shrine. Only the Master Emerald, twinkling in its unknowing mindset, seemed joyful this day. They were all thinking about Eggman again, something they had sworn not to, but could not help in the silence. Because they needed a plan, as it was possible that the next time Eggman attacked…there might be no Sonic to cook up a plan on the spot.

Not that Sonic's band of merry fighters couldn't handle themselves in a battle with Egghead, far from it! Indeed, they could all fight and defeat him easily. But, as true to Sonic's name and nature, with him around, things with Eggman ended fast and clean, while with Knuckles, Tails, and Amy alone, it would be grueling, drawn-out battle that would leave every hero exhausted. Sonic's never-ending reserve of strength and fighting spirit allowed him to (willingly, even) take most of the beating from the doctor's machines and come out laughing about it. There was no need to argue. Sonic had been fighting the doctor the longest, could predict his moves, calculate any weak spots, and defeat him…and do it quickly.

Neither Amy, Tails, nor Knuckles had Sonic's insane speed, quick thinking, or the uncanny ability to counter the doctor if not perfectly then cleanly, without much damage to the hull, so to speak.

And, Sonic was the only one who would be there fast enough to prevent a serious accident. Everyone gulped as they thought on this. Even Knuckles had to concede that, for all his strength, if Tails or Amy was caught, he would get there too late to even attempt a rescue. Strength did not do much for him in that aspect. Amy was especially afraid, thinking on all the times she'd been in deep. It was usually Sonic who came to her rescue. And, even if it was someone else (it had happened, though it did rarely) was doing the rescuing, she could rely on the fact that, should they fail, Sonic was three steps behind, ready to rescue her should she still be in danger.

If Sonic were to be absent for this battle…there would be no backup plan. Either Amy was rescued by Knuckles or Tails, or she would surely-gulp-meet an untimely end.

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy sighed with desperate longing before her head dove into her lap and she began to cry. Tails wrapped his arms affectionately around her, in an attempt to console her, but no solace would calm her bitter tears. Knuckles, who was zero help in every emotional situation (_especially_ with girls—call it a weakness), could only stare on out into the horizon.

Secretly, and what he didn't know they were all hoping, he was thinking and wishing-praying, even-that Sonic would be well soon. And if not healed completely, then at least present, to help out with a possible battle.

Because everyone felt safer knowing Sonic the Hedgehog was, quite literally, up and running.

_Super fast uploads! Don't get whiplash! Here comes another one!_


	4. Mes Dieux, Ombre!

_Here I go again, with another massive upload! Enjoy!!!!!!!!! Title's French for those of you confuzzled._

**Part IV: Mes Dieux, Ombre! (My Gods, Shadow!)**

Sonic looked up from his plastic bucket to find a most unwelcome sight gracing his dizzy, scattered, blurred vision. "Ummmm…heyy, Shads. What'chya up to?"

"I should be asking you the same question, blue hedgehog." Shadow observed in his usual monotonous tone, disgusted but not outwardly bothered otherwise as Sonic vomited rather loudly into the bucket before him.

Sonic lay back, panting hard. "Ugh, any more of that before I have a rest and I know I'll sprain my gagging system! Phew!" Shadow was frightfully surprised to find beads of sweat dawning Sonic's forehead.

_He's actually straining himself…_ "Uhh," For once, Shadow shuffled his cards for words. Anything to prove his supposed superiority over this mortal, impertinent, self-centered…ailing, weak, strained…hedgehog.

Sonic regained a firm grasp on the situation. "I see no knives, no guns." He began jokingly. Shadow was startled by how drained, how tired, his normally peppy voice now sounded. "So…obviously you're not here to kill me!" He offered a gleeful thumbs up, a classic smile and wink to go with it crossing his lips before he, quick as a flash, bent over the bucket to release more liquids from his bowels once again.

"Obviously, you've eaten something that has been poisoned." Shadow noted, more to himself then to anyone else, especially Sonic, but the younger hedgehog appeared to have heard him, as he chuckled whilst raising himself on shaking limbs (Shadow observed this with a disconnected terror, as one would feel while watching an action-packed nature documentary) before depositing his body with a thump into the soft, inviting covers on his bed.

"No danger, I've eaten nothing for what feels like forty days and nights. I'm as empty as a dried up pond." Though he seemed to joke, he also seemed faintly sad at this fact. Shadow winced. He himself, though strong both fed and starved, would choose to eat instead of to ignore cravings. If it was hard, even for the Ultimate Lifeform, to refuse a single meal when his stomach begged after only a few hours…how truly difficult it must have been for Sonic to ignore the life-giving (and strength restoring, Shadow added mentally) substances not once, but again and again and again!

Sonic proffered a huge yawn, as if Shadow's very presence was somniferous. "What is it you want?" He demanded, rubbing one eye childishly. "Since I can't eat, I'm forced to Nod from tire." He yawned again to prove this.

Shadow made easy sense of blue's reasoning. With little strength in him, it ebbing away every time he released bile, and no hope of any of it being recovered, sleep was the only way Sonic could store energy. He needed plenty, and it seemed he could barely control it. Indeed, he looked ready to pass out, even before one he considered dangerous! But, Sonic's question also confused the dark one, forcing him to cogitate. Why exactly had he come here? He was surprised at the answer stolen from his lips by Sonic's apparent inability to pay attention (though this time, his impatience was not to blame): "I don't know." He shrugged, confessing.

"Hih-hmmm." Came Sonic's muted chuckle where he was supported with one elbow, hand supporting his cheek. With the other wiry arm and thin hand, he patted the space beside him. "Sit, Shadzy."

Shadow tossed his head in arrogance and surprise, unable to help the mortified flush. "_Sonic_!" He squealed, the first time this tone had ever passed his lips, as if the idea itself deserved contempt.

"Chill, Shadow," Sonic yawned again, closing his eyes and resting on folded arms, so that Shadow was beginning to fear he would lose his audience. "I'm straight. Relax."

"I—I am _not_ that immature!" Shadow protested angrily, his cheeks pink with embarrassment at being discovered (as that _was_ what he'd been thinking on) as he lowered himself beside Sonic. "That was _not_ in my thoughts at all, you _cocky_, _over-the-top_…" He attempted to give Sonic a hard slap to the shoulder, but lightning-fast reflexes and a hand colder than the deepest, darkest areas of light-deprived space stopped him.

Sonic glared in warning before letting his hand drop as if it itself had fainted and allowed himself the liberty to fall back into the pillows with a defeated, weary sigh. "That took a large chunk of energy!" He exclaimed as his pupils dilated and he hid them beneath his bony fingers. "Oooww, I gotta try to eat later man, I'm _starvin'_…" He had seemed to forget that, for the moment, he was not alone, and when he realized this, he returned to the matter at hand without remorse at the barenaked words Shadow had heard pass his lips. "Listen to me, Shadow." Sonic's eyes gave a look-over of the ceiling before he tilted his neck, adjusting his pillows automatically, to gaze at Shadow. His eyes were glassy; sickly and far-off. "I'll never claim to know, heck I'll never even _try_, to see or understand what you think about, but I figure I'd be spot-on if I said you've got a lot to think about."

Shadow nodded, imploring Sonic to continue, suddenly eager to hear the surprisingly wise hedgie out…before he _passed_ out.

"Okay, good." Sonic seemed relieved to be right. Maybe because he didn't have to waste energy trying a new path of thought. "I don't know why you've taken a sudden, confusing interest in me and my well-being, but I have a feeling it has something to do with this "Chaos Twins" nonsense."

Shadow sighed. "Yes. You are not wrong, blue one, though you speak of it carelessly and plainly, without respect for it. Does that mean you do not credit it?"

"I swallow it with a grain of salt." Sonic shrugged easily, strangely compliant.

"Because Amy came to me…"

"Amy?" It was obvious the name hit a nerve. Shadow could feel Sonic's body become tense beneath the sheets.

But, the obsidian Ultimate chose to feign ignorance to the response. "…and asked if I could tell her anything about what to expect from your condition."

"And?" Sonic pressed, too eager, his form quickly rising until his fingers gripped his ankles in a nervous anticipation.

"And I saw things." Shadow confessed.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Sonic realized, his eyes sparking and then dying with a weak flame. Weaker than Shadow had ever seen his eyes.

Shadow bashfully shook his head no, and Sonic lowered himself into the sheets. The silence grew so long that Shadow feared Sonic had gone to Nod. He was about to get up and leave when:

"It wasn't too bad, was it? What you saw, I mean." Sonic's voice came muted and mumbled, because he was speaking into a pillow.

Shadow chuckled. "Not terrible. It is at least good news."

"_Good_." Sonic seemed more relieved then he let on, though his words now came with tired sighs, as if he really had to summon all his strength simply to converse. "I won't press you for how good the news is…just so long…as…it's…good…" He was trailing off slowly, losing contact with the real for the surreal world of his feverish dreamings.

Shadow had his hand on the doorknob, preparing to close it. "Goodnight, blue hedgehog." He added as he closed the door on the exhausted hedgehog.

_Et tu, Brutus?_

_Being sick __**definitely**__ tires you out…even if you __**are**__ the world's fastest, indefatigable hedgehog! :3 _

_Play on, good sirs and madams! For my jests are far from over!_


	5. A Little Bit Longer

**Part V: A Little Bit Longer **

_All this time goes by_

_Still no reason why_

_A little bit longer and I'll be fine._

_Waitin' on a cure_

_But none of them are sure_

_A little bit longer and I'll be fine_

_(Ehhh, sorrryy!!! I couldn't resist!! Well, read on! This chapter should be cute, hopefully. Man, it's at least a break from the Shadow-to-Sonic __**DRAMA**__ of the last chapter! Have a sweet dreams!)_

Amy fumbled with the needle, trying to force it through the blanket with fingers tired from working. The project in her lap was supposed to be a blanket, from a short-lived dream of Cream's to be a sewing queen, long ago abandoned. Amy sighed, yanking out her recently done stitches to start over again. She almost pricked her finger with the silver needle when her phone rang to surprise her. She reached for the corded phone and lifted the receiver to her ear delicately, setting aside her needlework where it wouldn't dare prick her as she talked. "Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Ah, good, Amy, you're still awake." The voice was tired and sounded overworked, but it was still undeniably…

"_Sonic_?!" Amy's heart raced briefly, before she calmed herself down. _Okay, okay, I'm not a little girl anymore…_ "Wait—_what_ are you doing up?" She scolded, only to hear him chuckling on the other end. She wanted him to take her concerns seriously. "_You_ are supposed to be asleep, mister!"

"Awwws, am I up past by beddie time?" Sonic teased innocently, adding a drawl to his language, making him sound babyish. "I sorry, mommy." She could almost see the pout on his face.

She couldn't help breaking down into laughter at this. Sonic continued after she was finished. "Sorry, but I've been asleep pretty much all day. Heck, night _is_ my day now!" He mused, entertained by the prospect. "I know I'm keepin ya up, Ames. I just wanted to know if everything's okay."

"Yeah, sure, everything's fine. Tails is building furiously as usual, Knuckles is doing his thing, I taught Cream a new recipe today…"

He scoffed. "_Puh-leeze_! If I wanted the local news broadcast, I could call Tails for that!" She giggled at his comparison. "I'm here to get something only a girl can pick up."

"Wha?—oh! I get it." Amy smiled, but it turned sad the more she thought on it. "Well, it's been pretty quiet without you, Sonic." She had to struggle hard to swallow down her tears.

"I'm sorry, Ames." His apology sounded strangely sincere for him. "I've been tryin to walk! It makes me dizzy as all hell, but I get farther every day! I'll be out and about before you know it." She could hear the beam that captured his lips.

"Don't try too hard." She cautioned. "We all miss you, but please…" Shadow's words once again came to mind. _"He might not be well when he arises to his feet."_ "Don't feel like you're forced to get up and out. More than anyone, Sonic, _you_ deserve a sick day!"

"Aha, don't lie to me. It hasn't been a day." Sonic reasoned sternly. "More like it's been _weeks_. I can feel it. Oooh…" His voice trickled into a soft moan, and she imagined his grimace of pain, as if she were right beside him.

Her urgent voice called him from his pins-and-needles pain. "Sonic?! Sonic, are you all right?! _Sonic_!_"_

That last word, his name, truly brought him back from the spiraling, closing-in-on-itself world that was his ache, that made his bones feel like peanut brittle (he truly _was_ hungry, since he was reasoning with food metaphors, and he knew this) and pulled him back, if a bit unwillingly, to the here and now. "Hoo ha, sorry, Amy."

She was frantic now, biting her lip in fright. "Sonic! What happened? Are you all right?!"

"Fine, fine, just touched by pain, is all." At her gasp, he quickly reassured her. "It's nothing, honest! I'm fine!"

She seemed weary, but content with this. "All right, if you say so."

"I do." Insisted Sonic, and this sent the two into giggling madly with laughter. Then, Sonic returned, his tone very serious. "But, Amy?"

The female was prompted to listen by his stern tone of voice. "Sonic?"

"I _have_ to get up." He reasoned, and she chomped down on her bottom lip, thinking on his injured body in the hospital cot, which, just minutes before, he'd woken up in, as he prepared himself for another daunting, dangerous feat. "I _have_ to learn how to walk and run and fight, no matter what, before Eggman attacks us again, Amy! You don't understand! You--" He paused, the passion in his voice doused, replaced by tire and a need to rest. She could hear him gasping, trying to get a hold of his temper.

"I _do_ understand." Amy soothed him, listening to him pant. "You may not want to believe it, Sonic the Hedgehog, but I do. I always did, and I always will."

"Amy…" Sonic sighed, chuckling hoarsely. "You don't know what those words mean to me."

"I can guess." Amy teased.

There was a bit of a silence, which Sonic broke in urgency. "Amy? I—I need to go."

"Okay, Sonic." Amy shrugged, about to hang up.

"_Wait_--! Uh," He hesitated, obviously swallowing thickly the nasty warm liquid that threatened his conversation. His voice was high-pitched and pressed. "D'ya…want me to call ya back?"

Amy sighed with delight. "_Yes_." She answered, relieved.

"Okay! I gotta go. Bye!" Sonic hung up instantly, but Amy was far from mad. His rude exit from the conversation was not because of impatience or any self-centered design, and Amy more than forgave him for it. She couldn't care less, though, if it _had_ been from rudeness. She was on cloud nine.

"_D'ya want me to call ya back?"_

Those were the most romantic words she'd heard all night.

_Chapter's broken up into two parts!!!! Read on, sirs and madams!!!_


	6. You Don't Even Know

**Part VI: You Don't Even Know**

_But you don't know what you got 'til it's gone_

_And you don't know what it's like to feel so low_

_And every time you smile you laugh you glow_

_You don't even know, know, know._

_You don't even know_

_(Again, I apologize. Lyrics for Parts V and VI are __A Little Bit Longer__ by the Jonas Brothers.)_

Sonic traced his fingers through the hardened fur on his arms. His perfect coat was beginning to get oily, because he hadn't washed himself in quite some time. He regretting being forced to hang up with Amy because of the bile in his throat (he didn't want to think on it—more than half of the vomit coming up lately was thick with red life), and he needed to get up and run. He _needed_ to be okay.

Because he knew his friends would be in deep with Eggman if he didn't stop being sick soon. At first, the not-eating technique had worked fairly well, but now he was throwing up without anything giving him strength in his veins at all. It was completely random, and unpredictable. Sonic would be on and off sleeping during the day and wide awake and weak during the night. His mind was focused so much on food lately (and he hadn't tasted even so much a bite of anything but crackers in the last forty-eight hours) that he couldn't even _imagine_ what a chilidog tasted like, might less what it felt like to be full. He was morbidly used to…being starved.

Sonic groaned and slipped out of bed, very careful not to step in the bucket. It was getting full again, and he was almost too weak to walk it to the bathroom. Cringing away from the stench (no news to his nose, but still), he lifted the bucket with both hands, arms trembling at the weight, and stumbled across the hall with it.

As he lifted the sloshing bucket to pour it out into the sink, his arm slipped and the bile spilt all over his arms. Sonic rejected the bucket, leaving it to the sink, and rushed to the toilet to throw up, mostly from impulse at the nasty liquid _seeping into his fur_ and _lacing his skin_ with its _nasty, chunky coat_…

Afterwards, he turned on the shower, standing impatiently while the water ran. He hated being wet, but he would trade an all-day swim for this illness any day. In fact, he'd begun praying to the gods for just that, if only they would lift this curse (delirious, that's what Sonic sometimes thought of all this as) from him.

"Oh, gods above my head," he moaned, stepping into the shower. "I'm serious! I'll battle a fuckin _octo bot by the seashore_ if that's what you desire. You need only take from me this illness! Or at least lesson its pain! Please! I need to keep my people safe!" Sonic really _did _feel a heroic, if not insane, need to keep not only his friends safe, but all of his kind who lived scattered about the planet, who depended upon him for protection.

Sonic was not usually one to feel such a crunch. He slipped it all under his shoe strap as part of his duty. Only when his mind was heavy with fever did he truly feel the weight of his duty. It made him realize, again, how sick he was.

When the water rolling down from the showerhead was pleasantly warm and steamy, Sonic stepped in and felt his muscles droop in his body. He felt himself falling to his knees and, before he could even attempt to fight it and keep it from happening, the action was over and done with, and Sonic had thrust his face up to the ceiling, feeling the hot water tickle and scratch his forehead and the cool runoff forcing his eyes to swell. He stood again, rather reluctantly, and began to scrub himself with a soft bath sponge and vanilla-scented soap. Maybe earlier in his sick state, he would've been tempted to eat the soap before he came to terms with what it was, but now he had no such fantasies.

Indeed! For if someone were to come and cook at his house, Sonic was so deep in his routine of ailing that even the alluring scent of his most favorite food would not send his stomach a-rumbling, as a reveille causes a bunker of soldiers to awaken! No, it would not even do so much as make him drool, if the delicious scent were to dance through his nostrils. For his illness gave him that gift, which caused him not to be tempted. But, if he were to think on chilidogs and what they might taste like (he having forgotten), or had to watch another devour one, he would cry and complain then, begging to be given one as if it were his last meal!

When he had scrubbed himself down to the bone and cleaned his oily coat, he stepped out amongst the steaming bath vapors to attempt to dry and fluff out his thin, sickly coat and make it look like new again. He was not so vain as to use a hair dryer, so he rubbed his towel furiously at his arms and legs and thighs, moving the towel over each individual quill. He rubbed at the steamy mirror with the side of his fist and looked within.

He had no sooner glanced at the mirror for a second then he cried out in fear and pulled back, shivering. He'd seen plenty of horror movies with wacked-out mirror scenes to take what he saw lightly. "Damn it, didn't I check the history of this…place…?" He'd been studying the mirror image from before, but found it not to be some sort of vengeful, Hollywood-designed spirit. No.

Sonic touched the pale lips moving soundlessly, studied the lifeless green eyes, dull as two river-washed stones, the sallow, carved out cheeks, and marveled at how he did whatever the mirror was doing. "It's…me." He whispered, watching his lips move in the mirror. "It's me!" He chuckled, frightened at the denial nagging him.

_This __**can't**__ be you, Sonic. You don't look like this! You __**can't**__! You are __**not**__ allowed to look like this, man! You've gotta stop being sick!_

"Haha," he laughed dryly, filling a paper cup with water, downing it, and crumpling the cup wearily in his fist. "Hahahaha!" He bowed his head, pressing the top of it against the mirror. "I scared myself! _I_ scared myself! Hahaha!" He huffed out a warm breath of air and then stared back into the dull version of his once-careless, beautiful emerald orbs. He was, undoubtedly, a ghost of his former self. His small smile turned to a frown easily as more denial set in. _This __**can't**__ be me. _

_But it __**is**__ you, Sonic._

"But it is." He shook his head slowly from side to side, and it was easy to see Sonic the Hedgehog was drowning in guilt and sorrow. There would never be solace, nothing to keep the nightmares of this defeated version of himself away.

Not now.

"It shouldn't be," he sighed, furiously wiping a tear from his eye. He heard the tremble in his voice from the violent sobs he was keeping at bay. "It shouldn't be me, but it is. I scared myself! I can't believe it! To think I thought it some specter…!" He laughed, never one to believe in the existence of ghosts, but it wasn't his true, in-good-spirits laugh. It was hollow, and fell dead upon his ears.

It was like typing happy words, when inside, deep down, you didn't feel like smiling at all. Like…like putting on a happy face to hide all the pain, tearing at you like a thorn bush choking your heart.

"I think I'd be lucky if it was a specter." Sonic said.

_You don't even know._

"He'll call me back." Amy reasoned with herself, staring at the phone. He'd promised, after all, to call her back. And even if he didn't she wouldn't be too mad. After all, it seemed that he had enough on his plate as it was.

_Okay, girl. Calm down. It's only been a few minutes! You aren't about to doubt his promise, are you?_

"No." She reasoned, getting a hold of herself. "He'll call. I can feel it!"

"Can you?" said a voice, a deep throaty chuckle following afterward. "And what will happen when he blows you off again?"

"Shadow!" Amy reached for something to throw at him, settled on the pink satin slipper covering her bare foot, and pitched it in his direction. "How _dare_ you!"

"What? The window was open." Shadow caught the shoe and threw it back at her. "I have opted for the dare the majority of my existence, I'll have you know."

"_Suuuuurre_ you have." Amy teased in a friendly manner, slipping her foot back into the comfy footwear. "And my Sonic has flown before."

Shadow held his hand at length, examining his gloved fingers. "Of course he has! He 'flies' every time he goes super!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Why are you even here anyway, Mr. Devil?"

"You're killing me, pinky. I, too, am waiting for a call from the blue hedgehog." Shadow irritably fumbled with his cell phone.

"Oooohh!" Amy giggled. "You two? Friends?"

Shadow felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. "Heavens no! We…"

"I _knew_ you two would get to be friends eventually!" Amy squealed, obviously quite excited. "My two favorite hedgehogs, finally working together! How sweet!"

Shadow shuffled his feet. Being described as "sweet" put a real damper on his evening… "Will you be mad if he blows you off?"

Amy snorted. "Pssht! No!" She shrugged, composing herself. "If he doesn't call me back tonight, it means he's gone to sleep. But he won't forget his promise. Sonic _never_ breaks his promises."

"Except when he does."

Amy curled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms across them. "Well, he may forget them, but he always manages to make it up to me."

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, looking bashfully at her. "Is that why you love him?"

"Yes." Amy answered with a sigh. "He may be egotistical, but he cares more for other than anyone else I know."

"He suffers knowing he cannot protect his people, his friends." Shadow noted. "It is hard to tell, but you can see it sometimes in his eyes."

"I know." Amy yawned. "I hope he gets better soon."

Shadow took this as his cue to exit and took his leave the same way he'd come in.

_He may never be the same again._

8888888****

_Oah! Are you ready to see Sonic change forever? ;D Things are looking testy. We shall see how it works out for him, and all his friends! Sonic may come out of this a changed man—err, hedgehog._


	7. Ready, Set, Go!

**Part VII: Ready, Set, Go!**

_I need you, I need you, I need you!_

_I need you to protect me, to hold me, to say it's all okay._

_I need you, I need you, I need you!_

_To spar, to laugh, to play._

_I need you, I need you, I need you._

_But I'm not ready for you today._

"Sonic, are you sure about this?" Tails leaned against the open doorway of Sonic's house, cuffing and uncuffing his gloves repeatedly in a mixture of nervousness and impatience.

"No." Sonic, just inside the door strapping his shoes to his feet for the first time in a month and a half. "But, I don't have a choice."

"Sure you do. You can choose to call off this dang test!" Tails snapped bitterly. He was trying to hide his worry by being angry, but Sonic could read his little brother like an open book.

"Wrong answer." Sonic sighed deeply, taking in a huge breath of air. He'd finally ceased vomiting uselessly, and now only did so when he tried to eat (even crackers were unsafe now!). This wasn't about to do wonders for his strength, but it meant he could finally rejoin his friends in the fight for freedom. He fixed his sunglasses to his face and stepped out onto the doorstep and into the world.

Being a little feverish yet, he was chilled by the sudden soft wind hitting his body, and he shivered visibly. The sunglasses helped to hide his dilated pupils from the world until he could bear to face the light. Thanks to some cobalt blue fur dye, there was little trace of his sickly fur color, but this false coat was no where near shiny, as dyed fur would never be. The only thing that would make his coat shiny—a nice, filling meal—would have to be put on hold for now.

Sonic worked his muscles, stiff from disuse, and ducked into a running position. Despite all the powers that should've made him unable to stand or walk, he felt energized, fueled by the small boost of being reunited with the wind and grass he loved so dearly. Tails took out a timer.

"Ready? Set…" Tails kept one sparkling blue eye on his older brother, prepared to run in the grass below. Sonic was gripping at the earth in agitation and impatience, waiting for the fateful word to reach him…

"_Go_!" Tails shouted as he pressed his finger down on the button.

The word was like being released from chains. Sonic pushed his fingers off the grass so hard that the bones cracked and his sneaker-clad feet propelled him forward at breathtaking speeds. He had his instructions: he was to run one mile and report back. Every second counted. Tails was timing him to make sure he was still fast as fast can be.

Now, as you will recall, Sonic's speed increases the less fuel he has in his tank. But the newfound power doesn't last long. After what seemed to him like only a few seconds, his head began to spin as if someone had just put him on a tilt-a-whirl for three hours. He made a sharp turn and doubled back, sniffing for Tails' scent to make up for his lack of direction. He arrived back quicker than Tails could blink and skidded to a halt before the twin-tailed fox.

"So…" Sonic panted, hands on his knees as he looked wearily up to the fox. His vision was still blurry, so he couldn't see Tails' features clearly. "How'd I do?"

Tails looked shell-shocked. "Sonic…" He breathed. "How…? Where…? _Why _did you…? Uhh…" He realized his stammering got him no where fast. He looked from the stop watch to Sonic. "This thing…" he pointed to the portable stopwatch. "I'm not sure I can use it to be accurate anymore! You got here faster than it takes me to stop and start this thing! Sonic…how?"

Sonic flopped down into the grass and closed his eyes. The world spun behind his eyelids. "I can run really fast when I haven't eaten. The emptier my stomach is, the faster I go. The only problem is…" He yawned despite all else. "It doesn't last long."

"Explain." Tails encouraged.

"Dizzy as all hell." Sonic mumbled. "And if I had gone but a step farther, I woulda passed out."

"I see." Tails was speechless and amazed at this power. He had little else to say, but: "Wow." The fox laughed. "Wow, wow, _wow_, Sonic! If you put that power to good use, you'd beat your own racetrack record!"

"If I put that…look," Sonic sat up and crossed his legs. "Normally, I'd be able to run two miles, no problem. I'd just be a little dizzy and lose my sense of direction. Heh, not a big deal. _This_ time, I could barely run a single _mile_! What are you saying?!" He growled deep in his throat. He wasn't too happy about being terribly weak, and the fact that Tails was agitating him and he didn't have food to calm him, his anger was 100% unleashed.

And an angry hedgehog is _not_ a happy hedgehog.

Tails knew he was facing a frontal assault. Sonic's temper became more and more evident the hungrier he became, and much as he might try to restrain it, Sonic was starving and his anger was at its strongest because of this weakness of mindset.

"Easy, easy big brother." Tails cautioned to show both his submission and to make Sonic realize he was getting out of hand.

Sonic caught the tone immediately and put his head in his hands. "Right, sorry. I'm cool, I'm cool." He searched his little brother's ice blue eyes, trying to see into the fox's mind. "What do you want me to do?"

Tails smiled. "Train." He said.


	8. Training

**Part VIII: Training**

Sonic panted, noticing his vision going blurry in the corners. He blinked rapidly a few times and then continued right on, picking up in speed again so quickly, no one would ever be able to tell he'd faltered. Presently, he skidded to a halt and looked at Tails, who had been watching him from a computer monitor about three feet away.

"This is really bugging me, Tails. At least let's go to the racetrack. Now all I need is a glass cage, wood chips, and one of those weird water bottle thingys." Sonic made a motion with his hand, illustrating the kinds of water bottles usually found in the cage of a pet hamster.

"And a significantly lower number of quills." Tails added jokingly. "I'm sorry, Sonic, but no one can see you. It's just me. I'm not about to put it on the web, or anything."

Sonic sat down on the edge of the giant hamster wheel. "I need to rest a bit, too, I think. I'm starting to feel a bit sick."

"You didn't eat, did you?" Worry colored Tails' voice without restraint.

Sonic yawned and relaxed against the moving wheel. "Nahh. But if you want performance, you gotta get the fuel first."

"Sonic, you know you can't."

"I at least need some soda." Sonic responded.

Tails tossed him a bottle. Sonic caught it, and waited impatiently for the carbonated liquid to settle down.

"You did well. If I could feed you, I would. You're fast enough to race a beam of light, and you can almost win!"

"The point of this is for me to stay fast, isn't it? Feeding me would only make me slower." Sonic swallowed down the soda. There was another reason Sonic didn't like using this superpower.

He was obsessed with being the best, being the fastest, and though no person alive could beat him (or vehicle, for that matter), he would still do anything to improve, to be faster. Part of him wanted to keep at this training until he fainted from exhaustion.

The other part of him, well…the other part of him wanted to survive. This was also the part that very often had desired a meal when he was abed. It was not often he let this side dominate then, but his grip on the leash was slipping. He knew this side was close to winning, but he also knew Eggman might attack before then.

Eggman might build to accommodate a faster Sonic, and then Sonic would have to stay this speed until Eggman was defeated. For good.

Sonic knew he couldn't live like this much longer. He hadn't slept in weeks. He sat up with a tired sigh. "Tails?"

"Hmm?" The fox was busy making calculations.

"I…" Sonic paused. He felt like some kind of experiment right now, which had no free will of its own. He didn't _want_ to feel like that. He wanted to feel free. His voice this time held more conviction. "I'm going to eat." He stated. "I'm going to at least try. Tails," he begged. "I can't live like this for the rest of my life. I won't live very long if I keep this up. I don't want to die and leave you. I don't." His voice became stronger, less of a beg, as he continued to talk. "And I'll do everything in my power to keep my body strong so I can fight with you until Eggy dies." He nodded shortly with finality, but closed his eyes and put a hand to his head, suddenly overwhelmed with dizziness.

Tails gawked for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay."

Sonic's head spun as he rapidly sat up. "You're kidding, right? You're just going to let me go, with the word 'okay' on your lips?! That's it? No rebuttal?"

Tails chuckled. "Sonic, if I owned you, you would have a leash and a collar. Do you have that?"

Sonic felt about his neck automatically. "No." He responded sheepishly.

"You don't belong to me, Sonic. I can't decide whether to keep you or let you go. _You_ decide that, no one else." The fox laughed suddenly. "What? Did you forget that while you were sick? Eh?"

Sonic stood with some difficulty and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I sorta did forget." He stumbled as his belly offered up a strange gurgling noise.

Tails giggled. "Go on, you doof. Get something to eat."

Sonic closed his eyes and was gone without a trace, like a ghost fading into the air.

And there was no doubt: Sonic's emaciated body _looked _like a ghost!

_A pretty short one. O.o Tails reminds Sonic of his freedom. Read on to see what Sonic does with this newfound freedom of his! (Although, if you were paying attention, you might already have a guess!)_


	9. Apart from Me

**Part IX: Apart from Me**

_To be honest, I kept thinking on Sonic's face from episode two. http: // www. youtube. com/watch ?v= 2Eyf1g4jA2M 1:09 (take out the spaces in the url). If it doesn't show up, PM me and I'll give you the site. :D enjoy!!!_

Sonic tripped over a tree root and went skidding forward on his belly several feet before nearly crashing into a tree (thank all sensibilities he'd had the sense to hold out his arms to prevent from hitting his head--the last thing he needed was a concussion). "Ugh." Sonic groaned, rolling onto his side to inspect the damage. A rather nasty cut across his heart was bleeding more than it normally would, making him dizzier than he already was. He sighed, running a fingers across his ribs, stark against his body and he could feel them all the more when he exhaled.

He thought that, if it were in his power to do so, he could easily select one and pull it from his body. But, he didn't want to think on that too hard.

Sonic rose to his feet, vision blurring and head aching as he did so, and looked around. He didn't know where he was by sight, or even if he was anywhere near Tails' house anymore. He allowed his eyes to flow closed and opened his nose to his surroundings.

It smelled like forest, mostly. And it smelled faintly of dew as well. He could hear and smell water, a small babbling brook two miles or so from where he stood. He could hear birds crying in the upper stories of the huge, old trees and breathed deeply. The wind pulled and tugged at his thin coat, threatening to tear it from his back.

Then, the smell he was looking for slapped him violently across the face with insane force. He actually stumbled backwards, as if he'd been literally hit! He opened his emerald beauties, wide and wet with hunger. He moaned.

Chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven.

It had made his stomach mourn its emptiness in sickness, and now, in relative health, it made his knees buckle and it was all he could do to keep from falling. "_Ohah_…" he sighed longingly, not minding whose house he would surely have to pay a visit to. He broke into a run and had reached the house before the reader could take a breath.

Amy's house was steaming, not with actual steam as if from a burning fire, but with smells! Her house eternally smelled like sweets (as that was her favorite thing to bake), but now that it smelled like all the things she was cooking, Sonic found himself all the more unable to leave, though he felt very rude for intruding on what was possibly a private affair. The smell of the cookies and the apple pie she was just bringing out of the oven kept him glued to one spot (only food could do that to him), and he stubbornly thought this was absolute madness.

He exhaled and appeared beside her, his wind (almost nonexistent in this form) barely stirring her short pink quills. "It smells as good as sin." He breathed longingly, making the pink hedgie jump, the pie flying out of her hands. Deftly, Sonic leaped to catch it, fingers touching the edges that weren't too hot. His fingertips screamed at the sudden heat, but somehow it was nothing to a body, cold without external warmth that he almost felt like hugging it, were he not obliged to return it before he devoured it completely out of both overwhelming desire and hunger.

Amy, flustered and still trembling (her fur was standing on end!) from his surprise, started to find him before her, his bony arms and skeleton (they very nearly were—if one paid close attention, one might see the outline of bone beneath the pristine white gloves) hands producing her pie, unharmed, a bashful and some unreadable expression he pulled his face into whenever he was refusing his stomach's growls upon his face. His eyes were shy, but…extreme. There simply was no better word to describe it. The green stood out, bright as if from insanity. He blinked once and grinned at her speechlessness. "Hey there, Ames!" He greeted casually, head cocked to one side and ears as straight as he could make them. "Long time no see!"

Amy had been opening and closing her mouth indecisively before, but now paused to look him over as, guarded, she retrieved her pie from his hands. "Sonic…" She breathed, finally managing a few words at long last. "Why in the name of the gods do you—do you look like a Halloween costume done too well?!" She furiously turned towards the stove to hide the fact that she was tearing up from him, but he was beside her before she could wipe away her tears.

He chuckled, gloves absorbing her tears patiently. "Aww, seriously, do I look _that_ bad?"

"And worse!" Amy tore herself from his grasp and both hands clamped down on his shoulders. Sonic winced from the sudden, harsh contact, and Amy continued to hold him, not caring for the moment she felt _bone_, not muscle or even fat, the tighter she held. "Sonic, you—and how can you run so fast? You have very little wind…" She trailed off, seeing he really was in excruciating pain.

"Amy…" Sonic coughed without warning. "Circulation! I kinda need the blood!" She released him, and he rubbed first one shoulder and then the other before addressing her questions. "As to your speed question, I have but one answer, if you will allow me to proceed." Sonic made a "go on" motion with his hands towards her, a sly smile crossing his features.

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" Amy scolded, making the same motion with her hands. "Must you ask?"

Sonic suddenly bit his lip, all light from the joke drained out of him. "Because it might disturb you." And he advanced towards her, she remaining curious. Sonic slowly embraced her and then put both hands to her shoulders. He exerted a small amount of pressure, and Amy melted to it, eager to please him.

Sonic forced her to bend, and when she was eye-level to his midsection, he hugged her close again. "Listen." He directed her.

Amy marveled at the way his tummy vibrated from his vocal cords, but her girlish amusement was soon baffled and saddened by the low, stormy growl she heard next. Fearful, Amy pulled away, but Sonic was slow to respond and she realized that he was cringing in pain. When he'd let her go, she wordlessly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, which was mostly stark bone. Her body shook violently, and then she let the tears consume her.

Sonic held her, staring forward as one getting a vision of the future or one daydreaming might do.

…_I hope that out of a tragedy like this something good will come._

__Madeleine Albright_

After a moment, Sonic pulled her from his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he told her innocently, his voice defeated. "I shouldn't have done that. It was wrong of me to--"

"You didn't do anything bad." Amy smiled brightly, kissing the tip of his nose bravely, causing him to flush and avert his gaze. She pulled it back with her feminine fingers, gloveless because she was baking. "You did the right thing, coming to me. I noticed that nasty wound, too." She added. "I'm the best nurse, and cook, you'll find for miles!" She bragged and Sonic laughed softly.

"I forgot about it." He admitted, tracing the fault line of his cut with wonder.

Amy smacked away his hand and took a wet towel, washing it gently. The soap stung a little at first, but it was easy to get used to, and Sonic relaxed. He had to remember several times that his only strength he had when he was fully awake, and he had to keep himself from falling asleep for now. He didn't want to fall on her!

Finally, Amy seemed satisfied. "There. It's clean, at least. The rest will heal with time. There's nothing else I can do. So, Sonic." He snapped to attention at his name. "Are you planning on filling that tummy of yours or what?"

Sonic was uncomfortable at her use of the word again, which, he thought, was probably the reason she used it in the first place, and shuffled his feet. He couldn't let his pride win over, otherwise Eggman's next battle…might kill him. But, filling his stomach would take a while. Months upon months, with nothing keeping him energized save sleep and saltines? Not to mention he had to take eating at all in baby steps. Eating too much…might result in vomit. He shivered and looked up at Amy's touch. Her eyes begged for the response she wanted to hear.

He smiled. "I guess I could stay for a snack." He shrugged and Amy hugged him.

"Okay!" She exclaimed, letting him free. "Help yourself!"

Sonic went for a cookie and took a hasty bite, savoring the melted chocolate flavor within. It felt so good to swallow something with taste! He popped another in and closed his eyes in a bliss. He was already feeling much better. "Amy protein?" He wondered lightly, knowing Amy was more of a vegetarian and didn't eat much meat.

"I have leftover chicken." She said.

"That'll work." He responded eagerly.

_Woo! Late updates! Anyone about to read my stories at…(looks at clock) 11:13 PM? Lol Well, for anyone who's around…enjoy!_

_By the way, I'd like to thank my three reviewers for this story: _

_SonicPwnsAll_

_formlesstree4_

_Rachel-1994_

_^-^ Thanks for your support!_


	10. Love and Heart

_I love happy endings! ;D I got one more reviewer and I'm sooo happy! Thank you! Anyway, here's what you've all been waiting for—DUH DUM! So here we go._

**Part X: Love and Heart**

Sonic knew that right now, his hunger had no bounds. But, he could only eat so much for the sake of his illness, which he feared might return.

He hadn't even finished the leftover chicken offered him when he thanked Amy in a profound and (for him) very romantic way that is too private for me to describe and took off into the plains.

He hadn't gone far when he came upon a tree with a wide trunk and thick branches. Just the kind of tree he was looking for. Sonic grinned and climbed up into the tree. He wasn't sated, but his stomach was so unused to feeling food within it that it made him drowsy. He was simply content to recline against the tree trunk on a branch high off the ground where the wind would soothe his fur and the leaves would rustle out a lullaby, and pretty soon, his eyes came closed in a sleepy bliss, ready to welcome sleep back into his world.

He was not alone, for just as he settled into deep slumber brought on by unfamiliar comfort, a dark figure appeared from a wisp of black wind. Shadow the Hedgehog stepped into the shade of the tall tree and looked up at Sonic in the tree. "You." He chuckled, using Chaos Control to transport himself to the branch where Sonic lay. "You are now so deep asleep that you would not hear me. Indeed, you cannot hear me! The day may be slow," he looked upon Sonic with wonder and perhaps a touch of distaste. Or…was that jealousy in the core of his red eyes? "But will you hear a cry for help? Your ears are shut tight, and you only hear your dreams." He froze, afraid, as Sonic stirred.

In all honesty, Shadow _was _jealous of Sonic. Jealous because Sonic was known as a hero, and loved, and others enjoyed his company. Even when Sonic was estranged, as he was at times when returning from distant lands, the others did not only want him around: they _needed_ him.

Only Sonic could break a stunned silence. Only Sonic could stop two others from fighting. Only Sonic knew Eggman better than the mad genius knew himself. Only Sonic had the drive, the desire...to free the world from all oppression and evil. Shadow himself had no such desire, no such will to put energy into people he didn't know. Sonic saved millions of strangers a day, sometimes without an ounce of recognition. Most of the time without as much as a 'thank you'. Yet Sonic was willing to do it, again and again. This ability, this store of selfless goodness, confounded Shadow as much as it annoyed him.

"No," Shadow rethought his earlier statements. "No, you would. No matter how tired or weak you are, you will hear a cry for help. Your ears will never be deaf to the cries of a helpless innocent. But, I need to talk, and your ears are deaf. Hmmm…" Shadow braced himself against a sturdy branch and yelled out: "HELP!" in the most desperate voice he could muster.

Sonic shot up like a rocket right on cue, before the last syllable even passed Shadow's lips. He was startled because it was coming from close range, and he hadn't heard anyone come… He looked around fitfully, scanning the area for danger, his heart racing. Eventually, his gaze locked with the black and red Shadow laughing his ass off beside him in the tree.

"You're cruel." Sonic pouted, yawning and scratching himself absently, observing with contempt as Shadow laughed. "Why are you here, anyway? I can finally sleep deeply, and you ruin my nap." There was a soft glare in his eye. Anger, Shadow realized. And as he noticed this, he also realized that he hadn't seen this glare in a long time. Sonic was usually so nauseatingly happy…

"Apologies, blue hedgehog. I need to talk to you." Shadow responded almost grimly.

"Mmmhmm, mmhmm." Sonic rubbed his eyes carelessly. "And why all this 'blue hedgehog' stuff, anyway? I've got a name, y'know."

Shadow hissed between his teeth and Sonic laughed. "What? The name too much for ya? All right then, how about you shorten your little insult there and call me 'blue', eh Shads?" He winked, sitting up on the branch.

"I—yes that would be all right." Shadow answered, scratching between his quills bashfully. Sonic was nice to him, like…like he would be to his friends. Shadow knew he didn't deserve that, which was why he usually tried so hard to flick Sonic off. "Regardless, I have need to talk to you about something."

"Got something on your mind there, Shads?" Sonic chuckled. "That's _never _a good thing—hey!" He lifted his head to gaze at his black doppelganger. "Mind if we get something to eat? I'm so hungry, I can't focus!" This was as literal as it was mental. Sonic's vision was blurring in and out, his brain hot as boiling lava in his head.

Shadow might've normally snapped at him for proposing something so ludicrous, but under the circumstances, it was almost necessary to keep Sonic here with him. "No, I suppose I don't."

"Cool. Race ya!" Sonic leaped out of the tree and jetted off. Shadow followed, but was struck by the blue one's speed. He found himself actually struggling to keep up! The Ultimate Lifeform Chaos Controlled right up to where Sonic was. "Do you think you could slow down?" He asked sheepishly.

Sonic laughed into the wind, his own barely being created as he ran. "I could try, I guess." He drew back until he was at pace with Shadow.

"How did you get so fast?" Shadow breathed, trying to catch his breath properly.

Meanwhile, it seemed as if Sonic were trying to do the same. "I'm starving."

"The answer?" Shadow hissed impatiently, glaring at the cobalt hedgehog.

"There's your answer." Sonic closed his eyes and fell behind a step before picking up speed again. "The emptier my stomach is, the faster I am."

Shadow chuckled inaudibly. "So when you are hungry, _you_ could be the Ultimate Lifeform, is that right?"

Sonic rested one palm on the side of his head. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess."

Shadow was instantly concerned. Why was he losing him?! "Sonic? Are you well?" He hastened worriedly. But…why? Why was he worried about this doppelganger he had hated for being pure?

Sonic shook his head rapidly. "I'm not sick, but I feel…gods-awful dizzy. I need to go full speed." And without another word or action, he phased out of sight.

It was a lucky thing Shadow knew where he was going. As the red and blue and silver colors of the restaurant came into view, he expected to see Sonic there. However, when he didn't, a minute (not time) worry washed over him. Had Sonic deserted him? He was relieved when he saw the blue colored wind, but Sonic appeared confused. He continuously dashed in and out of sight, and finally the light stopped.

Shadow heard a sneeze from the bushes and Sonic emerged, picking a few leaves from betwixt his quills. "What was that all about?" The dark one demanded, tapping his foot angrily.

Sonic sneezed again into his glove. "Sorry. I got lost." He admitted guiltlessly, shrugging. "Shall we?" He slipped in through the restaurant doors.

Shadow shivered at the stark outline of his light counterpart's ribs against his tan furred belly and sides. _Truly_, he thought, _this is what it is to suffer._


	11. Um, Friends?

**Part XI: Um…Friends?**

"Can I get you boys anything?" A helpful waitress asked as Sonic and Shadow sat down.

"Yeah, I'll have five chilidogs and a coke, please." Sonic answered pleasantly.

"And for you?" The waitress turned to Shadow, jotting down Sonic's order.

"Just a glass of water, thanks." Shadow replied in his usual tone of voice.

"Okay! That should be about twenty minutes. I'll be back with your drinks." She scurried away.

Sonic stretched his arms out and settled into the comfortable booth. "So…why did you need to talk to me?"

"Question first." Shadow held up a finger from where his arms were tightly crossed and peeped his ruby red gaze at his blue rival to catch a reaction.

Sonic shrugged, folding his hands behind his head. " 'Kay. Shoot."

"Why did you get lost? You knew where you were going, didn't you?" Shadow was stunned to see Sonic's mood swiftly change from careless to worried. His ears drooped just enough to show the change in mood.

"Oh, that." He rubbed at his arm so unfailingly that Shadow wondered if he would make a bald spot. "I was hoping you'd forgot."

"Well, I did not! I do not forget!" Shadow snapped, and Sonic jumped at the chance to counter that.

"Ha! Lies!" He pointed excitedly at Shadow. "You forgot all about who you were and who I was and who Maria was and all that!" Sonic nodded with finality, a smug smile crossing his lips.

"Whatever. Look, blue." Shadow glared, impatient for a response. "The answer?"

"Erm, yes, well…" Sonic scratched behind his head. "See…I _did_ know where I was going, but…you know how, when you're running at your top speed, there's a little internal compass guiding you?"

"Yes." Shadow was waiting for the rest.

Sonic was relieved. This would've been hard to explain to Amy or Tails. But Shadow? Shadow was…easy. When had Shadow ever been easy? He chuckled before returning to his answer after a questioning look from Shadow. "Simply put—I gain the speed and lose the compass. It's easy for me to get lost, even if I know where I'm going. The last time I felt like this--" -he shivered violently at the thought- "—I actually ended up in a desert, miles from where I wanted to go. Luckily, I got home and ate before I passed out, but…" He sighed, indulging in the coke as it was placed before him. "-Thank you- you get the idea."

Shadow nodded to the waitress and sipped at the icy cold water. "How torturous. I don't know how you starved as long as you did."

"I'll give you a clue. It has to do with nasty liquid that comes from your mouth and plastic bucket."

"How did you do it the first time?"

Sonic started. "Training? I don't remember." He admitted, scratching his head thoughtfully. "My memory of that event is kinda fuzzy, since I don't like to remember pain."

"As no one but a masochist does."

"What?"

"Nothing."

There was a renewed silence between the two, both hedgehogs watching each other warily. Even though they were here as friends, there was still tension between them. Finally, Sonic broke the silence.

"You had another question for me?"

"Yes, but I must confess I have no idea how to word it."

"Try me." Sonic leaned invitingly towards him, eyebrow raised. "After all, I'm friends with Tails. If I can make sense of _his_ words, yours should be no problem!" He smiled, his eyes lighting aflame. Perhaps the sudden light in their centers was more about the smells of food that danced all around them, rather than some other feeling.

Shadow gave a short laugh and then touched his quills with embarrassment. "This is no normal question…"

"Again, try me." Sonic reclined, pushing his soda aside for now, saving the remainder for a drink after his meal. "Might as well put one of those stickers across my chest."

"That would invite other kinds of 'trying', I believe."

"You have a dirty mind, Shadow. I'm proud of you."

"It comes from hanging with sub-par intellectuals, like yourself."

"Ah, insult me with words I'll understand, Shads." Sonic dismissed his comment with a laugh, tossing his hand. "Ask your question, 'Ultimate Lightshow'."

"Very well." Shadow cleared his throat and leaned back into the booth seat before continuing. "Sonic, when you perform your heroics, what is it you feel?"

Sonic cocked his head slightly. "It might just be my condition, but I'm afraid I don't follow."

Shadow sighed, nerves crushing his usually confident personality. He actually felt himself sweating! "I—uh…when you save all those people…why do you do it? What do you feel for them? Why are you so tied to them? Why do you save them and walk away without need for recognition?" His speech was fast: Sonic had to concentrate to catch it all. "I've chewed it over many nights. A creature with such an ego…who just walks away without having it fed?! It makes no sense!" Shadow's fist collided with the table, making the liquids shiver in their glasses.

Sonic crossed one leg over the other and closed his eyes briefly, his form melding with the booth. Shadow was afraid he might've gone to sleep (Sonic's state did not allow him to see much day, as he tired easily without the strength of food fueling him), but his eyes snapped open almost instantly. "Give me a minute while I eat, and then we'll talk. I'm passing out, here!" He nodded to a place behind Shadow, and before the black hedgehog could turn around, a plate of chilidogs was placed before his rival. Five were stacked neatly like a pyramid of people. Three on the bottom supporting it, two were on top. Sonic licked his lips and set to it.

Shadow felt rather awkward watching Sonic eat, so he went outside for a while. He had a few minutes to ponder what Sonic might say, before a hand surprised him. Reflexes caused him to latch his hand around the wrist of the other hand, preparing to throw the intruder onto his back, when cold fingers gently pried at his fingers.

"Need the blood." Sonic teased with an upward-facing face that looked…actually rather cute. There was no other way to describe such a face. Shadow laughed and released him.

"Done already?"

"Food goes fast when it's set before me."

"I'll say. You barely gave me five minutes!" Shadow observed Sonic's figure out of the corner of his eye. He didn't expect to see much improvement, but he shivered when he saw none. In fact…Sonic almost looked thinner.

Sonic placed his hands on his hips and let out a huge sigh, face to the wind as he walked rather calmly beside Shadow. Then, he looked brightly at his counterpart. "Want the answer?"

"Very much." Shadow answered in a pleading tone, more than he expected to hear from his lips. In surprise, he covered his mouth, embarassed.

Sonic laughed, always a hearty, unforgettable sound, no matter how much he suffered, and flopped down at the base of a tree, instantly flowing against the trunk and relaxing against it with ease. Shadow wondered, as he sat with unease beside him, if such ease was a learned trait, or if Sonic was just naturally so easy-going. "You make me tired, Shads, to think of such things." Sonic yawned, rubbing his eyes childishly.

"If you won't answer me, I'll--" Shadow was about to stand, but Sonic's words had him glued.

"I'm kidding, Shadow. The warmth is makin me sleepy." He peered at Shadow and laughed at the baffled expression worn by the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow's face instantly morphed back into his classic frown at his laughter, if it was not a shade pinker. "Anyways, you got me thinkin. And I guess the answer is…that I really don't know."

"What?!" Shadow quizzed furiously. "That's _it_?!" _**This**__ is what I lost sleep over?!_

"I dunno why I don't need reconition," Sonic continued, leaving Shadow with hope yet. "I just…don't. I feel like it's part of my duty to bring Eggman down and walk away. I don't need a statue in the city in my name. In fact, I think I'd probably tear it down."

"Why?"

Sonic shrugged. "I guess…because…" He frowned thoughtfully, sitting up and crossing his legs Indian style for a moment, before reclining fully again with a huge yawn. "…because I don't defeat Eggman for the greater good. I mean, I do, but that's not the real reason." He smiled. "It's just because…well…Eggman took away my freedom once. Chained me up to a cell wall in a cold, dark, spaceship when I was really little. I escaped, naturally, but…" The smile was gone now. Sonic was one-hundred percent serious. "The grudge, me fighting Eggman, has nothing to do—okay, a little--" he amended at Shadow's doubting glare, "—with them! It has to do with my friends, too, because I want to keep them safe. Amy's parents died by Eggman's hand, so of course I'm mad at him for that…but really the grudge, why I fight him, it's…personal. I mean, you're right. My ego is well-fed, better than me, sometimes!" He laughed, but Shadow did not. "And it'll stuff itself when it can—gods I wanna stuff myself—but I don't need it. The TV coverage, the fans, the…everything. When I'm fighting Eggman, most of the time all I can think about is me, as a small child, chained up to that wall. Cold, wet, starving, alone. And I'll never forgive him for that." Sonic closed his eyes, seemingly at peace. His breathing slowed down to a crawl.

He was fast asleep.

Shadow sat in the grass, feeling the wind stir his fur and watching Sonic's sleeping form. Then, he laid down in the grass, half curled into himself, and gradually drifted into slumber.

_T.T I'M NOT DEAD!!!! After working on Smoldering Embers (COMPLETE, btw, for any fans reading this!) and (finally) finishing it (was it long overdue?), I decided to return to this story and update, for chrissake. Lol Sooooo…here it is! Let me know what you think!_


	12. Trouble with a Double E

**Chapter 12: Trouble, with a Double E**

Amy patiently pushed her hands down onto her dress to keep from flashing the world involuntarily and smoothed her hair back in place. His wind was slowly returning, though his figure seemed far from back to normal. "Hey, Sonic."

The cobalt hedgie leaned against her stove, arms crossed at his chest. His body shivered once before he opened his eyes and turned his head towards a small flowering plant in the far corner of the room by the windowsill. "Mornin, Ames." His voice was joyful, but weighted.

"I haven't seen you in a while." Amy persisted, walking to lean beside him, desperately trying to get him to talk.

"Mmmm." It wasn't working. Sonic kept the serious, thoughtful silence he'd possessed since late afternoon a few days ago. Amy wondered what he was thinking about in that heroic mind of his.

"I missed you." She prodded, poking his arm with her finger flirtatiously, trying to get her reaction.

"Hmmm, you know me." He shrugged away from her poking, still a million miles away.

Amy became frustrated. She stomped in front of his gaze, continuing to move to the left or right when he tried to look away, ignoring his frown and tensed quills showing agitation. "All right, Sonic the Hedgehog," she growled. "Something's bothering you, and I want to know what it is. _Now_." She folded her arms across her chest, moving once more to the left, where Sonic persistently tried to look around her.

Sonic snarled, baring his teeth. This was definitely a warning, that he wasn't about to be patient and tolerate any of this. Amy ignored it, her eyes burning with passion. They locked glares for a few moments, and then Sonic humphed and turned the other way. Amy reached out to touch his shoulder with her hand, but he moodily jerked from her touch.

"Sonic…" She tried innocently.

A low growl arose in Sonic's throat, and he opened one burning emerald eye to gaze at her.

Amy froze.

The gaze was…frightening. It made Amy's warm blood freeze in her body. She couldn't move. Convulsively, she swallowed thickly and averted her gaze with much force on her part. "Please," she begged. "I…I just want to know what's wrong."

Sonic took a deep breath and composed himself. Thankfully (and as Amy had suspected), his quick temper came mostly from the lack of nutrients powering his body, not what little rage played with his golden heart. As he exhaled, he was Sonic again. Only…he looked…sick. Off.

Amy had not been wrong. Something was most definitely off kilter. His equalizing scales had been tampered with. Something weighted heavily on his impatient, loving spirit. Sonic, though fierce in battle, was truly kind and gentle as a lamb deep down. He would gladly lick one's fingers, so to speak. Nope, his planets were not aliened.

"Sorry." He apologized quickly, but sincerely, his eyes his own again. "It's the--"

"I know." Amy soothed, wrapping him in a soft embrace for a few moments, taking into account his wild smell. His scent smelled of droplets of water from mist, sappy bark from a pine tree, oak leaves, a hint of wildflower…the only thing missing was the scent she (surprisingly) loved most.

Sonic had not eaten his favorite food in a long time. And, from his thin frame and sudden nasty temper, she assumed he hadn't eaten at all since that fateful afternoon with Shadow.

"It's okay." She continued, letting him free as he began to struggle infinitesimally in her grasp not from impatience, but from an extreme need to feel free. She had learned that if he felt trapped, he became first very, very shy and inverted…and then violently aggressive. His little shivers, which even he could not detect, were signs of this trapped personality, and she had learned this through years of holding him close to her body. "I won't hurt you. Tell me what's eating you."

The word pulled a nerve tightly like the reins of a horse. Sonic cringed, and then gazed quietly into her eyes, all the stars in the sky reflected in his own. "Okay." He sighed, sounding relieved. Amy knew she was the wishing well where he dumped his dreams, worries, fears…

The hero had a heavy mind. Amy knew this better than anyone. She waited for him to continue.

"I'll tell you. It all started—whoa, ow!" Sonic giggled suddenly, nervously, a hand rising to cradle the side of his head. "Ah, I'm sorry, Amy, but I'm passing out. That just seems to come more naturally to me nowadays…" He groaned, leaning into the sink behind him.

Amy reeled, looking for something to feed him, when the door to her house flew open. She didn't lock it, because she knew Sonic preferred to just enter, rather than have to wait and knock. He'd forgotten to lock it, she guessed.

As she turned towards the door, she was not at all pleased with who she saw. Not exactly because he was an unwelcome visitor, but simply because she knew his visit was not casual.

It was Knuckles, doubled over and panting from his run over here. Amy watched Sonic compose himself. He'd successfully starved off the faint, and was storing his strength for the run Knuckles' presence promised him.

The red echidna's cheeks were a blazing hot red color, much like his skin, as he tried to gain oxygen. When he looked up and saw the two startled hedgies, one visibly frightened, the other curious, he seemed to relax. "Oh…Sonic…good. You're awake." He panted, standing up again, hand over his heaving chest. Sonic slowly advanced towards his wearied friend. "Tails told me I'd never find you…lucky I know where to look. Ha ha." He gasped, standing fully. It seemed he'd finally found his breath.

By now, Sonic was trembling all over. Not from fear, but from adrenaline. He was one-hundred percent ready to give it his all. He was just waiting for the words he needed to hear…

"Eggman's attacking the downtown area." Knuckles told him, gazing at Sonic. The hedgehog's eyes were fierce, and hard as jade stones. "You up for it?" The last words he said cautiously, well aware Sonic was not up to par…that the other heroes would be on their own.

"Always." Sonic replied with a smile as he closed his eyes. His body faded like dissolving sand into thin air as he raced off ahead of them. A great gust of wind, as if from a tornado, surrounded the two remaining heroes, and the two teetered to catch their balances again.

Amy fixed her hair and Knuckles looked out after him. "That didn't use to happen." He noted.

Amy nodded. "He's better fed. He's stronger."

"But still fast as ever. Faster than before."

"Yes. I don't know why."

Knuckles leaned against the doorframe a moment, staring off down the path Sonic had probably trod. Birds and bugs were just starting to settle back into place, also affected by Sonic's hurricane-akin gust of wind. "He hasn't eaten. According to Tails, his stomach hasn't once been full since that faraway afternoon before this madness started."

"That isn't good." Amy swallowed nervously. _Oh, Sonic. __**What**__ have you __**done**__?!_

"Well," Knuckles extended a hand. "Shall we?"

Amy took it, placing her tiny fingers in the palm of his large mitt. "Yeah. Let's go back him up."

Knuckles laughed and pulled Amy into his arms. Then, he took off gliding, as they looked down below for the giant robot Eggman manned, and the blue blur they loved attacking it until he took his final breath.

_O.O Cliffhanger! You guys mad?! ;D Tis okay if you are. I won't HATE you…much._

…

_More soon!_

_PS: I'm back in school, so updates may come slower after this. Trying very hard to get this little part done for all you, though! Keep R&Ring!_

_Oh, if you haven't voted for my poll and you're bored or something, please do! Thanks!_


	13. The Ground Down Below

**Chapter 13: The Ground Down Below**

Sonic was mad.

He was absolutely, breathtakingly, heatedly, on-fire, furious, beyond mortal reason.

Eggman sneered, tossing him from the mecha hand of his newest battle suit as if he were shooing a fly. Sonic was thrown into a building with the fore, crashing through the glass of a 48th story window (or something like that). His eyes closed against the shards, his body turning blood red from his loss.

Sonic pulled himself out of the debris. For a while, he couldn't see clearly. This worried him, and he immediately panicked. As he gained his vision, he pulled himself into the wind and super speedballed through the connecting joint of the very arm that had held him before. There was a sharp ping that hit his ears minutes after he had passed by and was already safely atop a building before a white light converged around the joint and the arm exploded in a white star of brilliant fire, like burning magnesium oxide.

Eggmasn's machine faltered, about to topple another building. The city's inhabitants had mostly been evacuated, but Sonic didn't want to take any chances. He dove into the wind, like a diver into the dark depths of the pool water below her, and flew (his speed almost was like flying. His feet barely touched the ground!) towards the doctor. He ran around in circles about the massive, tilting machine, until a cone of air, much like a tornado, encased the battle suit, causing it to topple over harmlessly into a pile of rubble. Sonic stopped on a dime, and doubled over, panting. He looked up through the glass covering into the doctor's seat in the machine, envious Eggman wasted no energy of his own when he fought (working the battle suit was a lot like playing a videogame).

While Sonic could get tired, and now was very quickly, the doctor was at full strength. That faint cobalt had starved (oh! To think that word was murder alone for blue!) off earlier was returning with great speed, and Sonic had little choice left.

He had to take Eggman away from the city so Tails, Knuckles, and Amy could begin cleanup. He nodded, because the Chaos Emeralds stuck like static between his quills and he only needed to take the last from its hiding spot to reveal his Chaos double, Super Sonic. And then, he dashed to the top of one of the massive buildings.

Sonic placed two fingers at his lips, took a deep breath of air, and exhaled. A loud whistle echoed down into the deserted city. Like the shark in _Jaws_, Eggman's machine rose up before him over the side of building via jetpacks, casting a nighttime-akin shadow over Sonic's scrawny form.

"You seem very tired, rodent." The doctor mused.

"And you seem very obese, Eggman." Sonic retorted, his heart thumping like a caged bird flapping its wings to no avail. _Thumpthuthump., Flutter flutter. Thuthump._ The beat was ringing in his ears. The longer he ceased to run, the more tired he would become. He had to make his point quickly.

"You cannot defeat this suit, Sonic. Not as you are. Even if you _do_ have a top speed I never imagined." Eggman's voice was cocky, but thoughtful. Far away, waiting to provide backup if needed, Amy and Knuckles stood on a building, Tails in the X Tornado. Their hearts were thumping as fast as Sonic's with anxiety for their under the weather best friend.

Sonic knew where Eggman's thoughts were going. And he didn't want to go there ever again. "Hmmm. Question is, can this hunk of scrap metal keep up with me?" He tapped his foot impatiently, arms over chest, inviting gaze of mischief, much like he did in his younger days.

"It can!" The doctor bragged. "And it can beat you, too!"

Sonic's eyes sailed around, and settled on a sight he didn't need to see.

A chilidog stand had been abandoned by the owner in the chaos. Sonic could almost smell the juicy franks, being cooked to the right temperature…mounds of spicy chili covering the top like a heavy hat… His stomach rumbled, and for a second, his insides rippled like the surface of water, and he lost his breath.

Yeah, he needed to get out of this city for more than one reason. Knowing full well Eggman could follow his gaze and discover what it was he looked at any second (and use it against him), Sonic closed his eyes and turned back to the robot. His eyes snapped open, locking gazes with the sinister eyes hidden by the rounded glasses on his face. "You sure, Eggman? Let's test that." Laughter filled the air, and then he was gone.

Typing furiously, Eggman tracked the rodent on radar until he found him. "Oh my gears…he's moving at an incredible speed!" The doctor exclaimed to no one in particular. "How could he have gotten so fast?! Impossible! Unless…my theories have been correct! Hmmm…this could prove useful." The doctor engaged the rocket boots in his creation and surged after Sonic.

Tails hovered in close, looking for a landing spot. Amy and Knuckles went to remove debris. Construction crews were tentatively sent out to help. But, the whole time, even while she made lunch for her starving friends and the rescue crews and construction workers, she couldn't help but be whisked miles away to where Sonic had run to.

Heated, starving, tired.

And utterly alone.


	14. He Won

_Sorry if the last chapter was unclear in some parts. It was late, and I was speed-writing. :D My hands couldn't move fast enough to get all my ideas down! The "she" at the end is Amy, since I got a comment about that. So here we go, chapter 14._

**Chapter 14: He Won**

_Almost there, _he thought desperately, _just a few miles! C'mon! You can do it!_

His body was filled with fatigue. If only Amy had had time to give him something to eat! Anything! At this point, any bite of food would still the mighty swells of hunger that violently were bashing and crashing at his sides, attacking from the inside, as if they wished with all their hearts to be out!

But, oh! With nothing in his stomach…I cannot define for you, the reader, how much it hurts to be without food! To have nothing, no food, sticking to your ribs! Not even a bite! For months! And for so many days after! Think of it, dear reader, as when you are hungry. The feeling wraps itself around you until it is simply unbearable and you must eat. Take that feeling, so strong, and multiply it by ten thousand. If you can imagine the pain and weakness, and madness consuming your thoughts until all you think, feel, see, taste, and touch is food, then you will know how Sonic felt now.

Only worse.

He was going mad. Very nearly he had lost control and devoured a fern growing on the path where he ran, or a cactus he sped by (now that he entered the desert), or give in to the swirling torrents of his feverish wishings. Mounds of chilidogs, enough to fill a valley, ice cream sandwiches enough to last years, steaks as large as mountains, ribs the size of a dinosaur, with meat aplenty hugging the bones.

But, he knew that the moment he stopped or swerved off course, Eggman would know everything. Eggman would understand how he came to have this speed, and come to understand how to manipulate the weakness hidden beneath the strength.

Sonic's mind was weak. He couldn't take the games. If Eggman were to offer him food…Sonic knew he would not resist. That was why he could not, would not, stop for any reason.

Except one.

The other Emeralds tickled his neck excitedly. Their sister Emerald, the igniting flame that would turn his dyed fur golden like his heart, was very near. Sonic swerved off course.

"I knew it!" Eggman triumphed, coming to a halt. It was only then, as he smirked widely, he noted the golden glow coming from Sonic's position.

And he knew he had thought wrong.

Super Sonic emerged, but with less of a golden glow than usual. Usually not affected by Sonic's feelings, the golden demigod felt the pain of his lesser twin, and therefore knew his powers to be less. He was weaker, because of a nagging hunger that burned the insides of a stomach that had never been filled, a tongue that was never to taste food. It confused him, but he knew why he was here. _Stand and fight. _He knew no other alternative.

_ROAR! _The stomach of the two boys (really one) growled ferociously. Sonic knew he didn't have much time. Like a missile, the sparkling demigod rushed forward in a blast of golden sparks of fire, darting through the center of the machine. Again and again and again. Sonic kept his focus. He had nothing left without that. If he waivered, even for a second, he'd just be plain old Sonic again.

The Super form was…incredibly weak. Sonic could feel the weakness like a virus every time he struck. Once, twice, again! Faster! And faster! Repeatedly. Sonic's description of the event would later be hard to guess at. Sonic's account of the story was taken blow by blow, with words categorizing action before detail, as one describes a vivid dream.

At long last, Super Sonic had run out of energy. And the machine exploded.

A bright light consumed all other colors and quickly filled the space around them. With a mighty bang, the mecha suit exploded into a billion pieces. The Chaos Emeralds took back their energy and darted away to their hiding place. Sonic was pushed by the blast into a nearby rock face.

His small body crashed, belly side first, into the massive red rocks, covering his fur with Martian-akin dust. Sonic gave a cry of pain and anguish, and fainted. His body, limp without the control of his muscles and his focus, slid down the rock face and tumbled into the sand at the base of the red mountains.

Eggman coughed, waving one hand wildly around as if he could command the smoke away, the other sheltering his lungs from inhaling the gray stuff, and emerged in his little Egg Mobile. He had expected the hedgehog to run away from the remains of the battle, as per usual. He was surprised and pleased to find Sonic, half-dead and getting worse, at the base of the mountain.

Eggman lowered the flying mini-chair and reached out to bring Sonic closer, in order to examine him. Sonic moaned and shrank into himself as he was touched, whimpering and whining through his pale, thin lips. Sometimes, he writhed, mumbling incoherently, but these fits passed as he became used to the hands that touched him.

The doctor thoughtfully looked him over and then placed the boy on the seat directly behind him. Sonic was not in good shape at all. He was not exactly out of shape, just…

Eggman had never thought he'd see the rodent look this bad. _He usually takes good care of himself…_ he thought, gazing at the dirty, untamed fur. Blood and cobalt fur dye dripped off the strands (because of the blood, his dye was washed out), and Eggman saw the horrifying, brownish blue color beneath the façade.

"Dear me," Eggman mused, in a tone that sounded vaguely worried. "He's really done something to himself! That speed is unmatched! Shadow cannot reach those speeds, even without his inhibitors! What happened to him, I wonder?" The doctor took one of the trembling, lifeless hands and felt for a pulse. "Still alive, and able to recover at that! Well, we'll see just how durable our young friend is." Now is when his malicious character returned. The doctor laughed manically as he flew off towards his base, our half-dead hero in tow.

_O.O Does it make you wonder if it's a happy ending after all? The sadness continues. We'll see if Sonic can survive the doctor's unending torture…_

_Until next time. __(in Edwardian Script ITC, font size 16)_


	15. Reliving the Past

**Part 15: Reliving the Past**

_So I went back to calling them "parts". T.T I forgot I was doing that! Lol anyway…more sadness! I guess… This is getting worse than __UCF__!!!_

There was a faint buzzing disturbing the pit of his eardrums.

_Bzzzz. _A pause. _Bbbzzzzzzzzz_. And, again, a pause, longer this time. And then… _BuhbuhbuhBRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZING_!

"Ugh," Sonic opened his eyes slowly. "All right, you got my attention…is it time for dinner yet?" He had no clue where he was. All he knew was that he was cold, hungry, and tired. And the smells around him were fully unfamiliar. No, he didn't recognize any smells. None of them were anything edible, otherwise Sonic might've been tempted.

But, no. He only had a clue that it—he-- was empty. Maybe his body simply didn't have the energy to let his belly growl, he thought. Nope, scratch that: there it goes. This grumbling actually hurt, and Sonic moaned regretfully, curling into himself and pressing anything warm there against it to help the pain. Unfortunately, it didn't do much. He longed for chilidogs, warm and filling, with the uncanny ability to make him feel all cozy and fuzzy inside. He longed for his stomach's complaints to be because he ate too much, not because he had eaten too little!

Sonic relaxed his tense muscles, hoping to calm the searing pain like a burning flame that he felt, and looked around. From the appearance of things, it seemed he was within a prison cell. The walls were pitch black and no sun shone through the window (leading him to believe it was night) far up above his head. The floor looked like steel, and what he was lying on felt like a block of wood. Sonic moaned quietly and rolled to the floor, expecting another injury.

There was none to be had. The floor was soft, and very warm and comfortable. Sonic sighed deeply, relaxing against the comforters that bedded his cell. He didn't care if it was animal-akin to lie there, soothed by the soft, spirit-raising fabric so cozy beneath him…it was a real treat, even though without fainting he couldn't sleep or rest.

Fatigue caused the darkness to close in on him once again and his head swam dizzily in circles. A faint was imminent.

_Oh well, _Sonic thought wearily, a yawn procured from deep within his chest. _So I'll sleep. I'm rather tired. Wonder where I am? _He curled up, the warmth of the covers moving all around him. Like a cat, he gave in to the cozy comforts, stretching gingerly once, paying the price of pinpricks in his belly willingly. _Ah well. Location can always wait for a nap._

He was just about to give in to the faint and close his eyes over blurred vision when the power to faint was revoked, just as it had been when Knuckles entered Amy's house earlier today. Instead, his eyes flew open again and he dashed into a sitting position.

Staring at him through the bars was his mortal enemy, sipping at a mug he held tight in his hands. The place outside the cell looked foreign, but homey. Deep brown wood covered the floor, a black and gold carpet with many intricate patterns adorning it played along the floor before him. He could reach out and touch it, surely, if he so chose. The chair Eggman was sitting in was the only chair in the room. It looked cozy, but functional. Eggman set the mug down beside a plate that housed the remains of food. A chicken leg, eaten down to the bone, lay absently beside a fork and remains of beans, chili, rice, and what have you.

Sonic mourned the food, and so did his aching insides. His stomach let out a growl of desire and Sonic closed his eyes, squinting against the obvious pain. Eggman watched dryly, without will to show emotion.

"So, you've finally woken up, have you?" Eggman mused tauntingly.

Sonic's eyes remained fixed on the empty plate. He would give anything for those remains, now run stone cold. He was about to tell Eggman so, but held his tongue out of pride. The pink muscle did cross his lips, however, as he thought of meals he had missed or skipped at home. He was sure now that there was no cure, no amount of food, that could fill the void within. But, he also knew that he couldn't not try to fill it. If he didn't at least try…he would surely starve to death.

He tried to mentally calculate how long it had been, but that only made the cravings worse. He almost cried when he realized he was indeed very close to death, that if this went on, he would simply fall into the darkness of a faint and never recover from it. Indeed, his breath caught in his throat almost painfully, and he sucked in a breath to keep the sobs at bay. He was close to tears because he was close to death, so close that the Reaper was sitting at his shoulder, waiting to take his bony hand…

It made Sonic realize this was not the way he had pictured death so himself. Always, he thought, it would be in the midst of a battle. Or, maybe he would pass away peacefully later in life, surrounded my children and grandchildren…no. He didn't want to die. Not yet! How awful, for a boy to be faced with death!

But, he had to be brave now. Yes. Sonic didn't like to cause a fuss, drama. He swallowed down his tears and picked up his weary head. "Woken up?" He repeated at last slowly, one ear falling on its side. "What do you mean?"

Eggman chuckled. "You've been with me for a week. Glad you finally decided to show your face."

"_A_ _**week**_?!" Sonic hissed, automatically advancing backwards, hand over his heaving chest. His heart was beating at a violent pace with anxiety. _Nononononononono, not possible, __**not possible**__!!!_ His mind conjured up the image of himself he had seen in the mirror; this bony, spectral version of himself.

It must have gotten worse. There was no way it'd gotten better. Hyperventilating, he asked in desperation: "You're sure?"

Eggman nodded, gesturing to the calendar on his computer. Sonic couldn't see the date from here, but he knew computers to be painfully exact.

Sonic automatically felt at his neck with his fingers, moved them across the surface of his sallow face, danced them across his ribs, all the more outlined against his body, like a skeleton. He realized his gloves were slipping off and removed one…only to fearfully replace it and close his hands (he was so weak, he could barely do even this!).

His fingers were bone. There was nothing more to be said about it.

And Sonic was sure by now his eyes were popping out of his head. He closed his eyes at the thought of it and a sob once again moved and shook his chest. This time, however, he could not keep it back.

Despite the fact he was before his mortal enemy, he dove down into the soft floor before him, letting out a short cry before bursting into tears. He tried to close the covers about his face so his sobs would be muted, but he knew full well they were loud in the quiet room. He continued to sob until he had no more energy to do so and laid on his side, his body shaking from the suppressed sobs still racking his body. "I—I--" he tried to speak, but his voice was leashed by sobs. Sonic placed his bony hands over his face and let more tears fall. He was really going to die. He was absolutely going to die. Eggman possessed him. There was no way he would see the light of day.

_My only desire was to die free,_

_But, nasty bastard, you took that from me._

"I can't even die with a full stomach," he muttered with a hard laugh, trying to compose himself.

Meanwhile, Eggman had been watching this display with a feeling akin to horror. The food from his dinner within him now sat uneasily in his body and he felt sick. This much suffering, not even caused by his hand…Sonic had been scourged by _something_. But what had he ever done? What did he ever do to deserve such a punishment?

And then, Eggman acknowledged that this situation was out of his hands, that he'd had to right to starve Sonic here, no matter how luxurious he made accommodations. He couldn't feed Sonic: the rodent would not take it. He could not aid his enemy. All he could do was set him free.

As Eggman fumbled for the keys, he wondered briefly if he ever wanted Sonic to die in such a way, even if he had caused it. "No," he said to himself with a chuckle. "Not like this. _Never_ like this. Not even he deserves that."

The doctor crossed the room, the key to Sonic's cell hot in his pudgy, gloved hand. He regretted all the weight on his body right now, because Sonic had no weight that was not bone and organ and quill. His shoes thudded faintly on the wood floor and tread softly on the carpet as he easily fit the key into the lock.

Sonic looked up at a click to see Eggman standing over him. The cell door was open, and Eggman's hand was outstretched.

"Do you…" he seemed awkward at this, "do you…need a hand?" He asked at last, sheepishly.

Sonic sat up a bit and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I might," he admitted in a much-abused voice. After getting to his knees and unable to get farther, he shamelessly took Eggman's hand and allowed himself to be pulled into a standing position. His other hand went to his head, for he felt he could steady his swirling world if he could only heal his head when the doctor, steadying him now, spoke to him.

"I—If you will accept my help, I believe I can palliate your condition."

"Heh, why so friendly, Eggy?" Sonic joked, but his voice was slurred, so it came out like a jumbled puzzle.

Eggmasn seemed to understand though, and grew heated from embarrassment. "I only recognize that I would not wish such a fate, even on my mortal enemy."

Sonic was stunned by the words, as he permitted Eggman to help him into the main room, and he relented to being sat in Eggman's chair while the doctor searched a desk Sonic hadn't seen before.

"I have pills that I developed," the doctor was saying (though whether or not Sonic was truly listening at this point was debatable; he was perhaps far too weak to hear the words, rather he was focused on keeping his eyes open) "to alleviate conditions I seem to suffer from when I don't get enough sleep. They should stabilize your vision, allowing you to journey home." As he said this, he proffered two small pills and a glass of water, both of which Sonic took eagerly. He hadn't realized how thirsty he really was until the water had sliced through the brushfire in his throat.

"D'ya mind refilling this for me?" He asked politely, offering the glass to Eggman. The doctor honored his request without speaking.

Sonic drank the water down deeply and stood. He was feeling much, much better because of the medicine, and he now felt he could make the trip back home. He stretched his unused limbs gingerly, noting the doctor's cringe as his true thinness was exposed, and tossed a careless smile at his enemy.

"Thanks, Eggman." He said simply, before his eyes closed and he took off into the wind.

Eggman sat heavily in his chair and turned towards the monitor above his head. His spy satellites were focused on Sonic as his tornado spun across the land, headed for his home over the hills and far away.

_^_^ KYAAAAAA! I can't believe it!!!! This chapter is somewhat happy!!!! Now I must retreat. Ta ta._


	16. Homeward Here

**Part XIIIIII: Homeward Here**

Amy brushed her quills away from her face and laid her head on her folded arms. She didn't have any more tears. Her eyes were dry.

Tails was tinkering in the other room, swishing his twin tails with the concentration. Knuckles was reclining on the couch watching TV at a low volume. The drone of the laugh track from the telly echoed through the house.

They had decided that the three of them should stick together, to not be alone. That way, they wouldn't have a chance to think about how long Sonic had been gone…the days had dragged on forever. Amy could barely pull herself out of bed in the morning, knowing that Sonic wouldn't stop by for a visit.

They had known Sonic was in bad shape. And they had no idea if he was eating, if he was okay…

For all they knew, he could be dead.

Fresh tears were forming now, and Amy almost cried. But, she didn't. Because she was about to get the surprise of her life.

Now, there were two entrances to Amy's house. There was the front door, which was locked now. This is how most people entered Amy Rose's house. However, there was a back entrance by the kitchen. It was a pleasant little door, but it went unused by most. Even Amy herself rarely used it! This door was usually locked, but tonight it was open.

Amy picked up her head. She thought she heard the door open. And sure enough, it did indeed open.

A shadowy figure dressed in a black cloak with a hood that covered the figure's chest all the way to his waist slipped into the house as quiet as a mouse. Amy was about to scream, but a gloved hand reached out to touch hers in a manner so sweet and with a hand so cold, yet so warm, that she knew surely it could only be one person.

"Sonic?" She asked in excitement.

Sonic quickly shook his head under the hood, placing a finger to his lips. Amy nodded in understanding. He didn't want to make a fuss.

She watched him with a girlish excitement lower himself onto the chair next to her with careful precision. Sonic was not usually so tense. Did he ache? Amy reached to touch his shoulder, but pulled her hand back to rest it against her heart. As he sat, Sonic sank into the chair, a soft groan crossing his lips as his hand pressed against his stomach.

Amy got up and crossed to the counter where remains of a fat-crusted pizza lay warm and waiting in a cardboard box. She wordlessly set it before Sonic.

The black nose, the only thing visible from inside the hood, twitched and Sonic sat up. He lifted one slice of pizza in question, sniffing at it as if he were trying to decipher if it were really good to eat or no. Perhaps he'd had reason to question any food given him by Eggman, but certainly not here, Amy thought. Why was he so hesitant?

Sonic slowly took a bite of the pizza. Because of the cloak, Amy could not see him chew or swallow. She wanted to. Her hand moved to removed the hood. With his free hand, Sonic barred her way. He put down the pizza as Amy took his hand gingerly in both her own and turned to face her, knees of bone and sick-colored fur brushing against hers.

Her face went from curious to horrified as her fingers traced the bony outlines of Sonic's fingers. Tears came to her eyes as she removed the glove and saw that the only thing preventing her from seeing bone was his fur. She gave in to tears, pulling his hand against her face and letting his fur absorb her tears.

Sonic did not want to pull her close and make her cry more. Instead, he gently leaned forward and placed his lips on her forehead. Amy stopped at his kiss, pulling away and looking up. Using her periwinkle sweatshirt, she dried her tears and gave a watery chuckle. Gently, he freed his hand and lifted her face to his.

They were very close, their muzzles almost touching. Amy could smell his breath. And to her extreme distaste, it didn't smell of chilidogs. It didn't really smell like anything, except traces of pizza from his single bite. But, she could see his eyes.

Wide and hungry as they were, they were still quite beautiful. Like sparkling diamond facets on a ring. Only, they were emerald. Anyway, she'd take his eyes over any jewel in the universe any day! Although a ring from a certain blue hedgehog wouldn't be unwanted, either, but…best not rush a starved boy.

Then, she realized why he had pulled her close. He wanted her to see his smile. It was her favorite of his, that slight upturn of his lips that could be so cocky, so loving, so free…It made Amy think of how much she'd really fallen for him over their life-long friendship together.

Sonic released her and turned back to the pizza. His eyes were pleading as he let her free, and he looked towards her, holding up the almost-whole pizza slice, as if asking if he was allowed to eat.

Amy nodded, smiling. She wanted to encourage him to eat, even though she desperately wanted to talk to him.

Sonic took a huge bite. Then, he sat back in the chair, staring thoughtfully ceiling-ward. At long last, he turned his attention back to food and devoured the rest of the pizza slice. Then, he closed the box. He was about to move to put it on the counter, but Amy barred his way. She opened the pizza box again.

Sonic tossed his head and closed the box again. Amy opened it. Sonic closed it again. His hood had come off his face a little, and his mischievous face said: "Oh, what now?"

Amy dragged the pizza box towards her and opened it again. Separating a slice from its brethren, she skillfully brought it over to the other side of the table. Resuming the chair she'd sat in before, she forced him towards her, holding the pizza to his face.

Sonic bit a part of it off and turned away. Amy turned him back and made him finish the slice, crust and all. As he swallowed the last bite, he looked hurt, but…better. She could see, though, that his stomach still ached with hunger. He'd been gone for a week. Had he not eaten a bite during that time?

It seemed not.

Sonic hesitated, his hand over the next pizza slice. Then, he grabbed it and devoured it in three bites. Nothing of it was left. Two slices remained in the box, and Sonic took them both at once and ate them at the same time. Amy sighed and went to get him a drink.

He was there before her, filling a glass with water for himself and downing two before he grabbed her hand.

"What?" She asked in alarm.

Sonic put a finger to his lips. Amy made a "zipper my mouth closed" hand motion and allowed Sonic to drag her outside.

When she had closed the door behind them, Sonic removed his hood and stood in a patch of grass under the moonlight. The wind stirred his cloak sweetly. His quills, also, moved like wind chimes. "Ahhh," he mused, his voice hoarse but otherwise the same. "It's good to be home!"

Amy ran to him and placed her arms about his shoulders, hugging him from behind. "Why'd you kiss me?" She asked, teasing him.

"I had to get you to stop crying somehow." Sonic answered softly, his voice very kind and sugary sweet. "That was the only way I knew how."

Amy laughed and took his hand, about to tug him back towards the house. "C'mon, we'd better tell them you're alive."

"Oh, Amy. They can wait." Sonic chuckled himself, staying rooted to the spot. "It isn't like I'm going. I came here because I plan to _stay_ here, got that?" He cleared his throat once as Amy reattached herself to him, from the side this time.

Her eyes were wide as she looked to him. "Oh, _Sonic_! Really?"

"Yes, really. Do I lie?" Sonic smiled, looking down into her face.

For a second, Amy forgot to be excited about Sonic staying the night. Her hands reached up to cover his cheeks.

Sonic had not been wrong when he had thought of his looks in his cell at Eggman's earlier tonight. He was indeed worse.

Amy cooed at the dark circles under his eyes, the stark feel of his cheekbones, the way his skin had receded so that his eyes bugged out of his head. He was almost unattractive, and yet…

And yet he was still Sonic. As if being starved could not change who Sonic the Hedgehog was inside.

Sonic was relaxing to her touch, but as he sensed her worry, her took her hands in his and placed them at her side. "Amy, it isn't anything. Don't worry." He nuzzled her nose affectionately and laughed. "I mean, sure I feel as if I'll never be full again, but you can help me get there!" She snorted at this.

"That will require a whole day of cooking." She answered thoughtfully. "I'll need to cancel a few things." When Sonic was taken aback, she laughed again, kissing the tip of his jellybean nose, making him jump. "Kidding, Sonic, kidding. I can do it tomorrow, no problem."

Sonic's eyes were worried. "Amy, if you really _are_ busy, I won't force you…"

"Sonic!" Amy hit his arm lightly. "My schedule is free! Pinky swear!"

Sonic held up his pinky, and Amy latched hers with his. "Pinky swear." Sonic affirmed. "That's as good as your signature, Ames. Be sure you know what you're getting into."

Amy really snorted with laughter at that comment. She laughed and laughed, and she really felt free here, with Sonic by her side.

"Now then," Sonic lifted her gingerly into his arms. Amy had to wriggle to get comfortable against the bone. "I've got an _insane_ craving for an M&M and hot fudge sundae. Care to join me?"

Amy laughed and presented the situation theatrically with her arms. "As if you're giving me a choice in the matter."

Sonic whooped and took off into the wind. And, he was no slower because he was carrying Amy, either.

To be honest, to Amy, it felt as if Sonic were flying. The speed didn't seem to affect them, like it was the world going by while they were standing still. Amy was amazed at the blur of color she saw all about her as she clung for dear life to Sonic, carrying her with ease to the nearest ice cream parlor. Amy thought the city's lights were the most amazing.

"Hmm, you guys did a good job rebuilding the city." Sonic commented. "There's the ice cream parlor!"

Amy was very upset when they reached the small parlor. Sonic sensed her annoyance. "What? Too late to be out?" He quizzed, innocently concerned.

Amy chuckled once. "No, ah…I just, hmm." She scratched behind her head, as he was wont to do, and sighed. "That was…just so pretty, and…"

"I promise, I'll run with you tomorrow, before you feed me, okay?" Sonic asked with a laugh, holding the door open for her. "I'll be taking you home the same way, too. I just need a little more food first." He sighed, leaning against the door as his stomach growled again.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Amy asked as Sonic ordered and paid.

"Hmm? Running?" Sonic teased as they waited for the worker, a young peacock, to fill their order. "I do that every day, Ames."

"No, no!" She protested, hitting him lightly on the shoulder to scold him. "Your stomach growling, I mean. Doesn't it hurt?"

Sonic sighed, pulling the cloak around him. "Yes. Yes, it does. But!" He added brightly as he took the sundaes and Amy led him to a table. They sat down, and Sonic passed her the sundae. Mint chip ice cream with loads of hot fudge, and a whole lot of M&Ms. He eagerly dove into his, while Amy ate hers with the delicate ways of a woman. "With food," he continued, "with food, it doesn't hurt so much. The calories are awesome, and hell if I can't use em!" He gestured to his body and laughed.

In the light, Amy could see how discolored his fur was. It was truly an unhealthy coloration. But, she tried not to think about it. On the bright side, Sonic had taken her out for ice cream! And they had a date tomorrow! Well, she had to work on that date, but…Sonic running with her beforehand would be worth it.

Sonic was munching on his M&Ms when she looked at him next. He was already more than halfway done with his sundae. _Lucky him, though, _she thought. _He can eat however many of those he wants._

After they'd finished their sundaes, Sonic lifted Amy into his arms again and, without a word, took off through the night, making sure to dash around under the city's lights. Amy was very pleased with it all, and was amazed every time they rounded a corner.

By the time they got home, the sun was beginning to touch the sky. Tails and Knuckles had gone home.

Sonic and Amy were alone in the house.

_O.O romance??_

_Finally, some happiness! Sonic is to have a feast in his name! What will be at this feast? And will Sonic actually eat of it?_

_Tune in next time for the fabulous feast! Bring your appetites and please review!_


	17. The Time Before the Light

_You need not fear the lemons! Mostly because there shan't be any! …yet. I don't know, that isn't a promise! I hadn't planned to make it a lemon story, so most likely not. Sonic can't do it now because, well…because he's just too damn bony! . Read on, my dear children, to discover the next exciting part!!_

_I feel so stupid because I did the Roman Numerals wrong…XD_

**Part XVII: The Time Before the Light**

Amy held his hand tightly as she escorted him into her bedroom. "Don't look." She warned as he flopped down on the bed and slowly removed his sneakers.

"No danger, I've no intention of dishonoring your privacy." Sonic had to wonder if those were really his words…and chuckled when he realized that they were. He faced the other way, and listened to Amy change behind him. _Wow, _he thought with amusement. _She actually trusts me not to look!_ He smiled at that, until warm hands draped around his neck.

_Oh_! The feeling was heavenly! The warmth was something that felt so good, it almost had a sweet taste. Sonic leaned into the treatment, almost expecting to feel a massive cozy feeling in his belly. But, he kept the cloak tied around him as Amy released him and climbed under the covers. Sonic gingerly removed his gloves.

There was a silence between them in the darkness of Amy's room. Sonic lay on his back between the covers, arms folded behind his head, staring with wide, bright eyes up into the ceiling, waiting for his starvation and fatigue to drag him into a faint. He had eaten enough so that he wouldn't die, and tomorrow's plan ensured a great amount to fill and fuel him, surely. He was content, knowing that tonight was the last night he would fall into slumber from a faint.

Amy lay there in the bed, planning what foods to make him tomorrow. She would have to go shopping first thing in the morning. It would leave her nearly broke, and with nothing in the house for herself, but perhaps she could guilt Sonic into treating her to lunch. Besides, no matter how much she fed him, he would always be able to eat another bite. _Especially _now. Only…this time she didn't think she'd be insulted because of it.

"Sonic?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you still awake?"

Sonic chuckled, wincing because it hurt. "If I answered you, doesn't that mean I'm here?"

"No. It could mean I'm dreaming." Amy replied, hurt, as she curled into herself under the covers.

Sonic reached over and pulled her against his side. Amy shivered as her back touched against his ribs. She felt her way up his body for his shoulder, and found he'd laid a pillow there. It was rather considerate of him to do that.

"Well, you're not dreaming, Amy. I'm really here." He said at last.

"I know. And that's the hardest part to believe." Amy sighed into the pillow, feeling Sonic move his bony hand down her back. The other one still supported his head.

"I'm here, Amy. And, I'm so sorry. I never meant to worry you, or Tails, or Knuckles. Not even Shadow, if he cares." Sonic closed his eyes out of shame.

Amy sighed and moved her way up to kiss him tenderly against his sallow cheek. "Sonic, I think _we_ need to apologize to _you_. Tails and Knuckles and I—we knew that you were weak and sick, and yet we didn't help you fight Eggman. I'm sorry I never helped you, Sonic."

Sonic's feet stretched out and his hands came after. He yelped in pain as his skin stretched against his sides, and Amy reached out in alarm to heal him if she could. Sonic waved her off and relaxed again. "Seriously, Amy." He chuckled almost inaudibly. "I wouldn'tve _let_ you help."

"Why not?" Amy pleaded.

"Go to sleep, Amy."

Amy pouted. Sonic used to tell her that when she was little. Back when she was too young to enter the field. _Go to sleep, Amy. The heroes are talking_. She used to think it an insult, but had learned that was how he kept things from her.

"Tell me." She protested, poking at his skeleton-akin chest. "Or you can starve tomorrow."

Sonic shrugged dismissively. "Big deal. I've starved for _months_. One day will be no different!"

"Are you so sure?" Amy teased, a malevolent look in her eye.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "You spent _waaaaaaayyy_ too much time with Shadow while I was away. Now, sleep!"

"But…!" Amy protested once again at him.

Sonic yawned himself. The heat of a faint was beginning to affect his head. He couldn't starve it off for much longer. "I promise, I'll tell you one day. Just…not right now. Go to sleep, Amy."

"Goodnight, Sonic." Amy answered, leaning down on the pillow.

But Sonic didn't answer. He was already falling into the darkness of another faint.

The lat one that would affect him in quite a while.

_YEEEEHAW!!! XD Well, another chapter, over and done with!! The next chapter begins a marvelous feast! Will Sonic eat of it? And, will his guilt about worrying his friends cause him to take drastic measures?! __**WILL**__ he actually devour the feast when it is set before him? Tune in next time to find out!!!_


	18. Food, Meet Stomach Stomach, Food

_ARRRGGGH!!! The Roman numerals are STILL WRONG!!!! Haha, don't worry. I'll get the hang of them…eventually._

_Feasting chapter!! Enjoy, everybody!_

**Part XVIII: Food, Meet Stomach. Stomach, Food.**

Was it appropriate in one or more aspects to say that the growling in his stomach was tiresome?

Was it appropriate to state that the strange feeling he got from being so long without food disturbed and estranged him?

Was it appropriate to say he had no idea if he could, in all actuality, eat of the feast in his name?

Sonic woke up in the warm, soft bed of Amy Rose. The pink satin sheets were converged sweetly around his body and he was staring up at the ceiling. Amy had, during the night, fell off his shoulder and was now curled into the pillow that had been on his shoulder. Sonic smiled at this as he saw it, and wondered briefly if the pillow smelled like him now.

Frustrated at the comfort from the warm bed, he threw the covers off himself in a rage common of him and angrily squished his feet into his shoes. He buttoned the cloak down his front (for the buttons had come undone in sleep) again furiously and hastily and marched out of the bedroom and out the front door, making sure to lock it again behind him.

The reason for his anger? To put it briefly, hunger. This angry passion that possessed him came from starvation. With no careful collar of comfort reining in his passions, they turned to anger and hatred. Sonic kicked the tree in Amy's front yard in fury, causing bark to fly off as his sneaker made contact. As he heaved in anger, he realized that it hurt. "Oww," he muttered, leaning against the tree, lifting up his foot and massaging his toes through the sneaker. The pain gave him control over his passions again, and he choked down a sob as he realized what he had been reduced to.

"No, oh no." Sonic sighed shakily, his foot gently touching the ground again as his palms raised to his face and he slid down against the tree…

And cried.

Sonic the Hedgehog cried and cried and cried until no more tears would come, no matter how hard he attempted to make them come, they would not. He rested his forehead on his bony knees and shivered.

How could he have allowed that beast, that monster that was hunger, to emerge? How could he have given it a chance?

Its appearance was not unfamiliar to him. In fact, it was morbidly far from that. He had seen glimpses of the uncontrolled passion when he had been the werehog. When that passion had taken an unnatural, ferocious form…and how relieved he had felt (though weak indeed, as he felt now) when it was sucked from his soul by Dark Gaia.

This unleashed passion had taken a literal form when he became Dark Super Sonic. The great amounts of false Chaos Emeralds shrieked and cried in his ears such nasty gibberish that it had made him feel so very, very weak and starved and hungry and queasy, as he felt now…that and the indignities of his innocent friends that Dark Narcissus had shown to him…demanding that his own body be sacrifice…! And…what then?

The passion had taken a cold, heartless, violent form. It had shrouded his true heroic, selfless personality and unleashed his fury and anger.

All because he was under the illusion of being starved half to death. _More _than half to death, if he recalled properly.

He realized also that such pain had to find a reservoir to pour it into. He couldn't safely take out such anger on Amy; he couldn't risk it. Fighting Knuckles or Shadow would get him no where. No, it was Tails who could keep that dark monster on a leash.

It had been Tails who had called him from such a rage before. Surely he could do it now!

"Oh, but it is stronger." Sonic breathed, finding his words feminine and very strange to him. "Then it was weak. It is stronger in me now." He wanted to cry again, but he revoked the privilege. He knew now only one cure for his feelings.

Well, he had wanted to speak to Tails today anyway.

Sonic felt his body melt into the wind as he ceased to become Sonic and traveled to Tails' small house, flying across the endless, pretty ground.

…………………

Tails' house was simple, except for the decorative waterfall on one side of the house. The rest was dark wood with a pale pinewood porch as white as wood can get without being painted and a sharp, bright yellow door that might sicken you if you were not frightfully used to the color. Such was Tails' house.

Sonic went in without knocking. Tails hardly ever had occasion to lock his door, either.

The smell of waffles and mint flew through his nostrils and Sonic's knees buckled. He fell noisily into the side of the couch, ruining his quiet-as-a-mouse approach and making the fox pop in from the kitchen, ears and twin tails stiff as boards in surprise and fright.

"Oh! Sonic!" Tails gasped with a shrill laugh, confirming that he had been startled. "I thought you might've been drunk!"

Sonic glared at him swiftly, rising. "Do I drink? That seems highly unlikely."

"Your manner seems drunk also." Tails noted.

"Breathalyzer test me, dear brother. I've not been drinking."

"How feminine of you, 'dear' brother."

"Shut up, Tails, before I _make _you shut up." Sonic snarled, but his eyes were casual and laughing.

Tails laughed. "Better. Now then, you should probably eat something. By the fuss your stomach's making, I should say you didn't eat much of a dinner last night. Waffles and ice cream?"

The answer was automatic. "Yes." Though something intrigued the hedgehog as he sat in one of the worn wooden chairs. Tails had said something about hearing his stomach, however Sonic had no recollection of it growling. The horrid and depressing truth was that Sonic was so used to its growling nowadays that he hardly thought two words about it.

For someone like Sonic, this was rather a horrible curse.

Tails reached into the freezer. "What flavor ice cream?"

"Chocolate." Sonic answered robotically. He was still thinking on why he hadn't heard his stomach growl, or have likewise knowledge of such an action.

"Strawberries or blueberries?"

"Both." Sonic smiled, licking his lips hungrily. Tails was beginning to prepare it…when suddenly Sonic remembered something. "Oh!" He started in his chair, sitting up so violently it hurt his tailbone.

Tails was startled by Sonic's reaction. "What?!" He wondered in alarm, instantly stiffening in preparation for a battle. "Where?! Sonic--!"

"Wha--? Oh, it's nothing, Tails. Relax." Sonic dismissed it, waving his hand. "Put the ice cream and stuff away, though. I can't eat."

Tails remained on guard. "Why?" He questioned slowly, eyebrow raised in a very Sonic-akin fashion.

Sonic didn't catch the resemblance and went on. "I promised to take Amy on a run before I ate." He explained. "With something in my stomach, my speed is effected. I won't be as fast if I--"

"Hold on there, cowboy." Tails commanded, holding out his hand to stop his brother. "Let's not jump to conclusions. You need to eat."

"But--!" Sonic protested feebly. Tails glared, and he fell silent.

"You need to eat _because_ of your pride. If you give yourself a reason not to eat, even when you have sworn to eat later, you might recall the reasons you refused food before, and then when the food is set before you or offered you, you refuse. Listen to me, Sonic. You got very close to dying of starvation. Even in your state, you progressed. When you would feel faint or dizzy while running, or while you would lose your internal compass before, you don't anymore. Running now is like running when you're well, only faster. Am I right?"

Sonic nodded mechanically. Tails was not wrong. Sonic felt no injury, not even a slight one, while running now. He paid no price for his speed.

"And you seem to be used to your hunger. That means you might not fully recognize it until you smell food." Tails began preparing the waffles again for him. Sonic could feel his hunger roaring like a lion. He rubbed his belly and moaned softly.

"Sonic, your condition has become easier to maintain. Your pride might overcome your physical welfare and drive you to exhaustion, or death. You could end up in the hospital, or in a casket, for that matter!" Tails exclaimed, turning to face his brother with dark, intense eyes. "Sonic, no one wants you to die."

"I don't want to either, Tails." Sonic answered, sighing as his eyes flashed from his dear little brother to the plate where three waffles, a scoop of chocolate ice cream, and loads of strawberries and blueberries lay awaiting him. "What I want is to…" He almost couldn't say it. "…to devour that." He lifted a trembling arm and stretched a bony finger towards it.

"And you shall." Tails set it before him and then politely turned away as Sonic attacked the food with the untamed ferocity of a wild animal.


	19. The Bottom of the Bag

**Part XIX: The Bottom of the Bag**

Sonic, after leaving Tails' house with a comforting amount of food in his belly (the waffles and ice cream and fruit had not sated his hunger, but he had eaten enough that his passions had waned and it was easier to catch "escapees" now), flowed into the wind. He danced across the grass like a spirit of the wind, knowing full well he shouldn't be wasting his calories away by doing this.

He needed a nap now. If he didn't sleep, he might become irritable again. Since his stomach was far from full, he had to be careful. He had to take precautions.

_Yuck! _Sonic thought with disgust. _Me! Taking precautions! __**ME**__! Feh! What __**has**__ this world come to?!_

Once he had found a suitable tree, he stopped in an instant. He felt very dizzy right now, and he could only hope this tree had a means of calming him. For Sonic's mind was focused, yes, but on so many (oftentimes insignificant) things at once! His head was spinning wildly, his poor tummy hurting with hunger. Sonic collapsed at the base of the tree (much to his tailbone's chagrin, poor thing,) and stared up into the boughs.

He thought he saw a pair of red eyes coming from a dark shape stared back at him. Sonic's eyes became lidded and he smiled wide, as if he were on some sort of calming illegal drug. The black shape came rushing towards him, landed beside him with the form and grace of a cat, and took real shape upon this pane of reality.

"Hey, Shadow." Sonic gave a short little wave before relaxing against the tree.

"Greetings, Sonic." Shadow answered, raising a hand in greeting. "You look well."

Sonic offered a muted chuckle from his diaphragm. "If my pot was filled with warm stew, I think I _would_ be better."

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

Sonic, eyes still serenely closed, removed one arm from behind his head and pointed at his stomach before folding it behind his head again and resuming his relaxed pose.

"Ah." Shadow plopped down beside Sonic and hugged his knees to his chest. "Eggman was cruel to you?"

"Pfff. Nahh, I was asleep for a week, so…guess I wasn't tortured enough for it to wake me up!" He laughed easily, snuggling into the warmth of the tree's trunk. "Hey, Shads?"

"What is it, Sonic?"

"You wanna tell me if there's anything edible growing up there?" An emerald orb peeked out from underneath the soft blanket of his blue eyelid. It had his familiar characteristics, only it had a new untamed wildness to it. A wildness, Shadow realized, that was caused by a long amount of days without a thing inside him, minus what organs and such were already there since his birth.

"Ummm…" Shadow leaned back and peered into the branches. "I do not know what they are."

"Take a guess."

"Crabapples."

"Really?"

"It is just a guess, Sonic."

"Hey!" Sonic opened both his eyes and sat up brightly, wearing an irresistible expression on his face, eyes alight with joy and eagerness.

"What?" Shadow was astounded by Sonic's reaction.

Sonic closed one eye and sat up a bit straighter, taking on a haughty appearance. "I musta done something you admired." He turned to profile and posed, like a conqueror for his painting.

"What makes you think that?" Shadow wondered, amused at Sonic's posing.

Sonic relaxed and gazed upon the dark hedgehog with something akin to wonder and the love one gives his friends, and his friends alone. With a sweet and emotion-filled voice, he answered: "You called me 'Sonic'."

There was a long silence. Shadow was shell-shocked for a few moments. Then, the dark one gave a small smile as well. "Yes. I suppose I did." He mused, in wonder of himself.

Sonic was back to leaning against the tree, eyes closed, as if he had never moved from that spot a day in his life. "What exactly did I do?" He wondered.

Shadow stood up and mounted the tree, hand over hand and reaching for footholds, to honor Sonic's request of earlier. "Nothing." At Sonic's strange noise of doubt, Shadow, picking crabapples, amended his statement. "Well…I suppose I don't mean that. Not that I don't think your feats, especially the one of late--" he didn't miss the small groan the cobalt one had uttered beneath him, "—are commendable. Great Being knows they are. It's just…that's not the reason I can call you Sonic now." He dropped once again to the base of the tree and dumped the crabapples next to Sonic in the grass.

Cobalt sat up a bit, still leaning against the tree, and began to nibble at the sour-tasting fruit. Eventually, he took to devouring them more ravenously, but only when he had gotten used to the taste. "-Thanks.- Could it be that you're starting to see me as a friend? Hmm?" He teased.

Shadow rolled his eyes, but secretly thought about Sonic's statement. Could Sonic be right? Had Shadow accepted their situation as one of friendship? "Yes," he said after a moment, laying his head on his knees. "Maybe that's it."

Sonic held out three crabapples in his gloved hand. "Want one?"

Shadow shook his head. "No thanks."

"Aww, _come __**on**_!" Sonic begged in a frustrated tone, and Shadow burst out laughing. "I've _never_ seen you eat!"

"I have no reason to right now. I'm not very hungry."

"C'mon," Sonic taunted, waving the two on a stem in his face.

"No."

"Go ahead."

"I said 'no'."

"Please?"

Shadow heaved a long sigh and snatched the crabapples from Sonic's hand. "Fine." He snapped, before popping one in his mouth.

"Well? What's the verdict?" Sonic demanded impatiently.

"It is…good!" Shadow admitted, chomping happily on the other one Sonic had given to him.

Cobalt laughed, and truly felt happy.

Because, he reasoned, happiness was always better when you had good food in your belly and good friends to share it with.

"_With the lack of fear, he knew he could say anything he wanted to, wheras before he had picked over his words to avoid trouble."_

_-_East of Eden by John Steinbeck

"The secret of happiness is to make others believe they are the cause of it."

-Al Batt


	20. We Are Only Mortal

**Part XX: We Are Only Mortal**

"_I'd sail before a thousand moons, never finding where to go."_

_~Nightwish_

_At the end of the day, we are only mortal._

_~pantedgieQueen13_

Sonic was up and running again. Literally. And sort of figuratively as well. He had left Shadow asleep beneath the tree, he himself unable to relax for the moment. He was restless. All of his limbs hummed and buzzed with a new energy that he couldn't control. It was amazing, like nothing he'd ever felt before. Or, at least not for a while.

He reached the hill before Amy's house, and saw the pink hedgehog carrying groceries. She looked like she could use a bit of help. He laughed and morphed into the wind. _Why?_ He thought. _Why do I still have this power?_ He instantly appeared beside Amy, arms outstretched, sideways grin in full bloom.

"Need some help with that?" He wondered.

Amy gasped for want of oxygen and handed over the packages, relieved. "Did you go on a run this morning? I was scared." She tugged on the cloak he was still wearing as Sonic walked easily to the house, groceries in tow.

"You could say that," Sonic huffed as he set the bags down on the table and peeked inside like an eager child looking for the cookies buried under the salad at the bottom of a grocery bag. His voice had been uneasy, but now his tail was wagging. "Mmm, mmm, MMM! I'm seeing the beginnings of chilidogs here!" He proudly waved a package of foot-long hot dogs and a container of cold chili in Amy's face as she came in with more bags.

"Ugh! Those were supposed to be a surprise!" She growled, rolling her eyes as she used her free hand to close the bag, her other made busy by holding a plastic bag by its handles. Sonic couldn't tell what was inside, but at the moment, he didn't care.

"Oooh, oooh, _oooh_!! I can't _**wait**_ to be full of chilidogs!" Sonic eagerly hugged his belly and squealed, his tail's wagging escalating to intense speeds.

"Well, what I would like to know is if you still need that cloak. I think it's pretty warm in here." Amy teased, observing him. "And you won't just be eating chilidogs, you know."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, stopping his giddiness as he slowly removed his cloak. "Ah, really? Like what?"

"Well, if I _told _you, would it be any fun?" Amy wondered, noisily opening plastic just to taunt him as she boiled water for the hot dogs.

"Yes. Then I would know what I have to look forward to. _C'mon_, Ames. I'm _dying_ of hunger here." Sonic took a look at his body. It wasn't really any less bony yet, but at least he had skin again, thanks to his meals here and there. However, he was completely unguarded when Amy saw him reflected in the window facing her.

She turned around, a look of shock on her face. Her eyes were wide and wet with horror, tears already streaming to the corners. "Sonic?" The fear in her voice said every syllable to his name with a spaced-apart consistency, like the thumping of her heart. _Thump. Son. Thump. Ic. Thump. Son. Thump. Ic. _And on and on.

Sonic turned slowly around to face her. He had been turned towards the far wall, chin digging into his shoulder blade. But, he faced her now and looked into her eyes. His were a beautiful, stunning emerald. Eager to be fed, yes, they were. Like those of a predator, scanning the horizon for a bite to eat. The red veins stood out like vines, and his irises darted infinitesimally in place, or fast as beams of light towards the nearest sound of interest, some of them Amy couldn't even hear.

He was trembling, as if with a feverish chill, his white teeth chattering. These alarmed Amy, where normally they wouldn't. It…kinda showed her exactly _how much _he had been suffering. _**SHE **_wanted to barf now, seeing him so frightfully skinny, so purely bone…

"What happened?" She asked. "Why haven't you healed?"

Sonic honestly felt faint and dizzy. It was now, as Tails had told him, that he saw the full extent of his hunger. The hot dogs were jumping in their pot, and he longed for one to be done. His poor, abused tummy, empty for so long, found it unbearable to stand another minute of starvation. He wouldn't of even cared if the dog lacked a crisp bun or hot, filling chili. He would eat it out of the pot if he had to…! But, not in front of Amy.

The cobalt hero, starved almost to death, breathed a huge, shaky breath and let it free. He observed Amy's widening sea green eyes as he did so, and tried to ignore the haunting look of pure horror.

Shadow, if he had seen the skeletal frame of the cobalt-furred body, had ignored it. Shadow was used to horrors. Tails knew what Sonic looked like. He couldn't _possibly_ get any more shell-shocked. Knuckles might stare, but overlook it…

Amy, well. There was no getting around those eyes. The medic in her was dedicated to finding pain, and her endless capacity to love would manage to find compassion for the one hurting.

_I don't need your compassion. The minute you give me something to eat, my eyes won't look so horrid. _For he knew how scary his eyes could be, how dug-out his sallow cheeks were. _Give me something. __**Anything**__. And I promise I'll look okay. Promise._ Now if he only had the courage to speak the words he had devised that were perfect to calm her! He saw her advancing, and held up a hand.

"Don't pounce on me, k?" He joked shakily, very afraid of what the force of her love might do to his thin, skeleton frame. "I want zero broken bones."

"Why haven't you healed?" She repeated slowly, like the woman who's seen the ghost in the horror flick. You know the one. The one with the innocent heart, and the endless ability to care, to believe.

The one who doesn't deserve what she's seen.

"Amy," His voice was so gentle. "Give me something." He held out his now-ungloved tan bones towards her in expectance.

"Wwhut?" She stuttered, clutching at her heart.

Oh, how he hated to see her this way! It broke his heart. It made his head spin worse, and his eyes roll into his head. He had to close the emerald orbs to gain control over his world. He heard her gasp, felt himself stumble. "Give me something," he opened his eyes, the gaze pleading. But not like it usually was. Like it was more of a demand than a plea. "Give me something to eat. Anything. Please."

"Sonic?" She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a few store-processed mini-cakes. The only pre-prepared food she had around that wasn't part of his feast. She tossed them to him, afraid to approach him, as if the very stomping of her boots might break him.

Sonic could sense her fear, could smell it. He could feel how tense she was. And he knew he had to stop her from feeling so down. As she tossed the plastic-wrapped iced cakes towards him, he caught one skillfully between his teeth. "Ta da!" he announced, though it sounded muffled because the cake was still in his mouth. He spit it out comically, and raised his head with a showman's smile to catch her reaction.

It worked—she was laughing quietly. It was short-lived, but it was a start. Right now, though, Sonic needed applause.

He tore open one of the plastic bags and popped the mini-cake into his mouth, chewed, and finally swallowed. (He was so bony, one could actually see the lump of cake traveling down his throat!) Then, he devoured the second. On the third and final one, he tried to take it slow, but it was hard to. It seemed that every time a little bit of food fell like a skydiver from his throat and into his empty stomach, he just felt all the hungrier, all the more desirous…he knew his stomach was growling, and he was upset because the sound was frightening Amy.

"You aren't Sonic anymore." She breathed. "Shadow…the Chaos…it was right after all."

"What do you—oh." Sonic remembered vaguely a conversation with Shadow about Amy coming to him, asking if Sonic was going to be okay… Yes, he remembered. "No." He shook his head, quills flowing over his shoulder. By a miracle or other such work of magic, his fur was celebratory cobalt. And, he was sure the color would enhance all the more the fuller and less ravenous he became.

He longed to be made exhausted by a too-full belly. He yearned for it to complain up at him as he slept: _"You ate too much! You ate __**too much**__, Sonic the Hedgehog! You let your appetite get the better of you! And I'll make you pay for it!" _

"Oh, say it, tummy." He whispered inaudibly. "Say it, tummy, _please_." But, of course, his poor, abused tummy cried like a little child a different complaint. _Feed me! Feed me please! I'm so hungry! So very, very hungry! Please feed me! Please!_ "Amy, I'm Sonic." He smiled invitingly, swallowing down the rest of the cake. "I really am! Oh, that's why I didn't want you to see my body before!" He told her, crossing the room to her slowly, reaching out a hand to take hers. "You would've looked past what's really me—my eyes—and seen only the--"

Amy stopped him, and, now that she was close enough to embrace him, she did this now. Only, gently, as one would carry an egg. Sonic realized her love for him abounded beyond what he had thought previous. _As usual, my time is terrible._ Sonic moved his midsection commandingly over the warmer parts of Amy's body and tears came to his eyes as the warmth didn't drive off the pain. How the swords run through his stomach didn't cease to exist.

Only one thing could make the swords go away. And he regretted to admit it. _Damn, _he thought. _I really __**am**__ starving to death!_

He took charge over his voice again, and spoke. His voice held its usual, lively character despite its owner's state. "Amy?"

The pink hedgehog raised her eyes to look into his. "What, Sonic?" She wondered softly.

"Finish up those preparations and I'll take you on a run."

That, in and of itself, was enough to make Amy tear up. The fact that he hadn't forgotten about her silly little request to go for a run at breathtaking speeds before his health slowed him (not that she would miss it much—his arms were uncomfortable! She was getting bruises all over her back from resting against the bone.), that he had remembered after all, made her happy enough to cry. All she could find her voice to say was: "Sonic," before he lifted her into his arms and took off, as if he was merely a ghost.

Truly one with the wind.

_T.T dragging it on…cause I haven't updated in some time. No body minds, right? XD_

_I felt so guilty writing this one today! I was eating pizza and I thought about it, and I was like: "Damn, I feel like I made Eggman feel in that one chapter! O.o" Sorry Sonic!_

_Do YOU feel the same way, so it isn't just ME who's crazy?! ;D What I sacrificed to be a writer._

_Anyway, drop me a review and lemme know what's on your mind. Tootles!_


	21. Something I Forgot

_Technically, these later chapters are all part of the feasting saga, where Sonic actually gets to eat again. ;3 Here's to SonicPwnsAll's video that he has on his profile. If you haven't seen it already, go check it out! ^-^ He's one of my reviewers, so you can just click that reviews button and find his name…should be near the top! :D_

_I continue to thank all my reviewers, especially the ones that review EVERY story I put up! Ya know who you are! I don't think Sonic's willing to give up his chilidog feast you give you some, but…I'm sure he's very thankful as well. _

_Enjoy!_

**Part XXI: Something I Forgot**

"Sonic? What's the matter? I mean, besides your tummy…" She added at his knowing look that said: _You know perfectly well_ and uncurled her arms from where it was stationed against her chest to tickle what she could reach of his tan middle. At this speed, it felt funny to lift her limbs.

Sonic's head bent towards her. His quills were whipping out behind him as if they, too, had become weaker the emptier he'd become. But, he was smiling, his eyes bright and soft, as per usual. "Me? Troubled? Nahhh, not really," he answered, and then looked forward a minute, leaping over something. A few seconds later, the sound of a stream reached their ears. It didn't matter to Amy. To her, it didn't even feel like Sonic was touching the ground. As far as she was concerned, they were flying.

"Not really, huh?" She taunted, and he flushed pink at this, shaking his head away from the hand that caressed his cheek. "C'mon, I can see it. There's something bugging you."

"Nahh, I'm cool."

"Eating you." Amy jabbed. She had been trying to get under his skin with that comment, and it worked. Sonic frowned.

A few seconds later, Amy's side crashed into a wall. She realized this "wall" was Sonic's rib cage, and she gave a cry of pain and fright, and then one of surprise as Sonic dumped her into the grass and walked off towards the horizon.

Amy spit out grass furiously from between her teeth and looked around her. It was like a glowing dream world. Butterflies caressed the air on gentle, multi-colored wings surrounded by black outlines that further differentiated them from the sky. Blooming apple trees and magnolias, and many other flowers waved on the very pretty wind.

"_Oh_," Amy mused dreamily, her breath catching painfully in her throat as she suppressed a giggle. "Oh _Sonic_! This is _amazing_!" She cried, rising to her feet and dashing after him.

Sonic, walking close to the small, clear pool of pale blue water on the banks was lost in his own thoughts and didn't register Amy until she tackled him to the ground, squeezing him until his face turned purple.

"Sonic! Sonic, this is--!"

"Amy!" Sonic choked. "Need. To. Breathe!"

"Oh!" Amy flushed, rolling off him and releasing him from her death hold. "Sorry! Did you bruise? Are you okay?"

Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Still unbreakable." He knocked against his ribs with a fist proudly, but Amy turned away upon hearing the faint, hollow sound of it.

"Sonic…I think I need to make you something to eat. _Now_. We need to go home. Can you take me?" Her voice was very serious, but in all reality she was attempting to keep the tears back.

"Ames, _why_ do you think I came here?" He guffawed until he had to end it with a hiss of pain, lying on his back in the grass, eyeballs rolling up into his head. "_Hoo ha_! I think I need a snack before I can take you anywhere. Man, this is _fucked up_!"

"I'm not getting anything for you if you speak in obscenities to me. Got it?" Amy huffed, tossing her head to profile in anger, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

Sonic laughed weakly. "Please, Rosie? If I don't eat somethin' soon, I'll float up into space!"

It wasn't working. Amy sat as still as stone, anger evident in her features.

Sonic groaned, sitting up with much difficulty. He shook her weakly, enough to make her face towards him. "Amy."

"Sonic, if you think I'm going to—MMURFF!" She didn't get a chance to finish, because Sonic's lips were touching hers. Sonic hadn't meant for the kiss to go far, but Amy was quick to commandeer the kiss into breathlessness. It was typical of Amy to go over-the-top on something so slight as a tiny kiss.

Needing to breathe, Sonic pulled away. Panting more than usual, he observed the effect he'd had on her through wonky vision. It worked, apparently. She seemed softened. He fell back into the soft grass that felt so much like the hides of stuffed animals and closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the warmth flushing his head that was surely about to turn into a faint. "Amy, please. I'm suffering, here." It wasn't often Sonic said these words, which prompted Amy to listen more intently. "There's some apple trees, and peach trees around. Gather some for me, okay?" He coughed weakly and his eyes were hidden beneath a trembling gloved hand. The glove was slipping off said hand, revealing the bone beneath.

Amy nodded, happy to oblige. As she picked the apples and peaches for Sonic (she found some pears, too, and picked as many as she could carry), she couldn't help thinking about the kiss.

It had really affected her in some deep way. Even if it had probably only been to procure her aid.

"_A good servant has absolute security, not because of his master's kindness, but because of habit and indolence…If I had wished, I could have robbed, stripped, and beaten anyone I've worked for and come away with thanks."_

_-_East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Sonic looked up to find Amy dumping an armload of deep red apples, odd-shaped green pears, and sweet round peaches. Sonic grabbed at the mass at random and pulled out a peach. He bit into it heartily, not minding the furry skin. He soon found it to be fresh and juicy. He swallowed it down and found it satisfying in his tummy. He picked up the pace, tearing through the remainder as one does through paper.

Amy was beside him in the grass on her knees, keeping all fingers out of his reach. "Hmmm," she mused thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll make an apple pie."

"All for me?" Sonic wondered, chomping eagerly into a pear. Amy seemed stunned when she looked back and realized there were more pits and stems remaining then there was fruit!

"…Yes." She told him.

"Goody. I can't wait!" He beamed, his teeth making a crisp, hearty sound against the skin of an apple. "My! They're _delicious_! Ooowah!"

Amy laughed, seeing him in such good spirits. It made her forget why she'd ever been mad at him in the first place. She was reluctant to bring up the kiss again, because it might distract her from the task ahead. She stored it in the back of her mind as something to bring up after he had a full stomach.

"I'll just go pick them." She said, rising.

"Can I come?" Sonic backhanded his mouth with his glove and sat up eagerly. Pits and stems galore lay at his feet, bees already greeting them, craving sweet sugar. He looked so innocent, so bright, that Amy couldn't refuse.

"Of course." She answered, helping him to his feet. Sonic hugged her then.

"Thanks, Ames." He said softly. "Thanks for everything. I love you."

Amy slowly hugged him back. "I love you, too, Sonic." She was smiling. She could feel the beam on her lips. But, she had to wonder at Sonic's sincerity.

_Is all this for real?_


	22. Words Spoken Carelessly, BTMTW

**Part XXII: Words Spoke Carelessly, But That Mean The World**

"_But go in joy, and as for labor let there be no grieving that limbs in youthful vigor should still toil." –_The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padriac Colum

_I've made my stand here before thee, as lover and fighter and hero and more. Which of my titles dost thou suppose I prefer?_

-phQ13

Amy selected the best apples from the tree and placed them in a satchel Sonic had fetched for her. She didn't need a whole lot, but it seemed her bag never got very heavy. She wondered at this, until she happened to feel a hand probing the bag. She knew it was not her own, so she jumped, stumbling backwards and falling into the soft grass beneath the apple tree. Those red, juicy apples she had picked before now tumbled out of the satchel and lay upon the ground. "Oh!" Amy growled in frustration. "I hope none of them are bruised!" That's when she spied Sonic standing over her, feet fairly close together, one arm across his chest. The other was bent at the elbow and held a juicy red apple close to his face.

"Sonic! Aren't you _sick _of apples by now?!" She quipped, laughing heartily.

"Nope! Apples are awesome!" Sonic swallowed down what had been in his mouth and winked, using his other hand to offer a thumbs-up. "They're also filling," he added as he finished off the apple with a burp and leaned slightly backwards, drumming on his tummy with both hands.

Amy sighed, letting a few chuckles escape. She could still feel that warm smile on her lips that had been there since his words to her: _I love you_. "Well, anyway, could you help me up before you continue making your hit single, there?" She accused from on the ground, fists balled into her hips and chin thrust outward in annoyance.

"Ha!" Sonic snorted, extending a hand to her. "I already _have_ a few, thank you very much!"

"Well, you _never_ play them for me!" Amy retorted. She was afraid to slip her hand in his. Afraid of feeling nothing but bone. "How would I know?" She crossed her arms over her chest, closed her eyes, and turned her face profile. With one sea green eye, she peeped at him.

_The only sea I've never feared._ Sonic thought, a new heat creeping into his cheeks. "Well, if you'd only, I--" he paused, thumb under his chin and face scrunched in thought. "Eh, you got me there." He extended his hand to her again, this time, with a fancy bow. "M'lady."

She took the hand and smacked him on the shoulder with the other. Sonic turned away from it, but Amy kept his hand. She could still feel bone, but it wasn't as obvious anymore. Sonic was getting better!

Sonic turned towards her, eyes focused deep within hers. "Ames? I think we gotta pick up the apples." He touched her nose with his muzzle tenderly, not wanting to lose breath from a kiss again.

Amy pulled him against her and sniffed at his fur. It didn't smell like much. She then pushed him away from her and stooped to collect the apples once again, placing them inside the satchel. "So, did you mean that?"

"Did I mean what?" Sonic quizzed, as he knelt beside her to retrieve the red fruit from their resting place.

"That, when you said you loved me." Amy replied. At that instant, however, they were both reaching for the same apple.

But each, lost in their thoughts, didn't notice. Sonic's hand was first to reach it, and then Amy's clasped over his. "Oh!" They both jumped when they saw what had occurred. "I'm sorry!" They giggled nervously, since it seemed they were saying everything at the same time.

"Yes," Sonic said presently as he took Amy's hand in his own.

"Yes what?" Amy had forgotten in light of the events that followed exactly what she'd wanted to know. She was lost in his beautiful emerald eyes again, longing to kiss his soft, gentle lips.

It was ironic. He was so fierce in battle, not willing to give up a fight! How could he manage to jump from extremes?! He could be so fierce, and yet so gentle. How could this be?! Why was the best fighter also the best lover?!

Sonic chuckled once, softly. "Yes, I meant it when I said I loved you, Amy." He leaned in closer to her face and kissed her cheekbone, and then rested his head on her shoulder, melting instantly into her lap. Amy was forced to hold him, for her was actually sitting on her lap now! His arms went around her, too, as his head faced her neck. She could feel the ticklish warm breath there, and it soothed her. "I guess I always did, but then there would be this, and that…and worry of what I might do to you, what I might not be able to do for you, if I wasn't fast enough to save you, but…" He chuckled, closing his eyes against her shoulder. "Isn't it odd? The most sorrowful things in our lives turn into the greatest epiphanies for our better halves." He sighed, and Amy felt shivers of delight simmer up and down her spine.

_This could be it, I think I'm in love_

_It's love this time_

_It just seems to fit, I think I'm in love_

_This love is mine_

"And then, what would I do without ya, Ames?" His voice was tired. He was getting heavy in her arms. Amy shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable. Was her seriously going to sleep in her arms?! She couldn't help but giggle with fangirl-akin excitement. "You just—you make everything in my life brighter." He yawned cutely, reaching to rub his eyes with a gloved hand. He looked so much like a little child then, and if anyone had told Amy right then that Sonic could defeat a million bots in under a minute, well, she would've laughed. He seemed a different person now, as if this weren't really Sonic right now.

_I can see you with me when I'm older_

_All my lonely night are finally over_

_You took the weight of the world off my_

_shoulders (the world just goes away)_

"Sonic?" She asked, not expecting an answer. _Am I dreaming?_

The blue hedgehog in her arms curled a bit towards her warmth and cuddled deeper into her warm shoulder. He was really going to sleep!

Amy knew what that meant. Sonic never slept with anyone else present (unless, of course, he was passed out, but that's a different story) unless he really felt safe with them. That meant that Sonic could rely on Amy to protect him, should any danger come while he was asleep. Although no one would be given the chance to do so, it was the safety that he felt while around a person that allowed him to sleep in their presence. Amy felt a warm rush consume her as Sonic yawned once again and fell heavy in her arms. He was fast asleep.

"If you drool on my dress," Amy warned. "You can kiss your little feast goodbye!"

And, still wrapped in his sleeping shroud, Sonic smiled, as if he had heard and recognized the joke.

_I can see the two of us together_

_I know I'm gonna be with you forever_

_Love couldn't be any better_

_AWWW!!!! That gave me the warm fuzzies!!! ;3 I hope you guys got them, too!!_

_LYRICS: When You Kiss Me by __Shania Twain_


	23. When is it Ever Easy?

**Part XXIII: When is it Ever Easy?**

"You're awake, aren't you, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog nuzzled deeper into her chest, unwilling to fully realize he was awake. "Well, if I wasn't before, I am now. Gosh, that was the best sleep I've ever gotten! Thanks, Amy! Uh…" He yawned, gazing up into her eyes from his place against her heart. "Sorry for sleeping on you." He flushed, averting his eyes.

"No, it's okay, for the most part. You didn't really move a lot, but your bones hurt." She gave him a short pet from ears to quills, unsure of how he would take it. Sonic didn't like being treated like any regular animal, and he would beat down anyone who did it. However, Sonic seemed either not to notice…or he didn't actually care for once.

"But your heart has a calming rhythm, too." Sonic spoke, sitting away from her now. Amy cringed as his pointy tailbone moved over her lap. "I think that's what kept me still. It colored all my dreams." He stretched, closing his eyes and extending his arms out, thrusting his head back to stretch out the kinks in his neck.

"Even the ones about food?" Amy teased.

Sonic rapidly threw her a nasty look. "_Please_. Even if I did—which I didn't—do you think I'd tell you?"

"Yes." Amy chuckled, watching him comb his quills with his fingers airily. He gave her another slicing look with those bright emerald orbs.

"Well, I didn't anyway!" He affirmed, huffing indignantly and crossing his arms over his chest. "So there!" He cockily stuck his tongue out in her direction. Amy licked it with her own. "Hey!" Sonic hissed. "_Noooo _touchie tongue!" He hit her arm lightly and rolled off her lap and into the grass.

She laughed. "We are _sooo_ not going to stick to that rule…Sonic?" Amy questioned, because he seemed almost ready to sleep again.

"Ahhh," he mused sleepily. "The warmth is so nice. It's noon by the sun." He noted, pointing, before turning over onto his back. "I need some sun. My fur hasn't felt its rays since…well, what feels like ever!" Sonic chuckled, resting his head on his folded arms.

Amy had to marvel at how unguarded he seemed. What a difference food in his tummy made! Sonic seemed so more relaxed than she'd seen him in quite a while. And then…she remembered the meat she had to cook for him. The feast! "Sonic, can you take me home now?" She asked in urgency.

"Of course, but why?" Sonic stretched out, peeping at her from beneath his arms. "It's only noon." Part of his brain was chanting _"lunchtime, lunchtime, lunchtime"_, but Sonic was unbothered by this. Like Tails had said, he wasn't suffering because food was not in front of him, or at the front of his mind right now, for that matter. Even though he was well aware his stomach was growling, hunger seemed in a whole other universe. "We got all day. Chill." He yawned, and prepared to hide his eyes from the light again.

Amy nudged him with her boot and with a groan he exposed his skeletal underbelly. There was a touch more skin between the ribs and their visibility point, but they were still very real against his belly. "Sonic the Hedgehog! Have you _seriously_ forgot our little date?!"

Sonic had been rubbing his eyes and grumbling incoherently in protest, but her words sparked his interest. Ears pricked, and his attention snapped to recognition. _Date? Does this mean "food"? _He felt his warm tongue cross his lips, and his hunger spiked rapidly. What was once a subdued growl was now a humble roaring. Sonic winced, for this transition hurt. _When did I promise her this "date"?_ "Guess you could call it that. Where am I takin ya?" He tossed a thumbs-up and a classic sideways grin, coupled with a confident wink. He had no will to show his hand just yet.

Anyway, he reasoned, she would see soon enough at the restaurant or theater, or wherever he didn't remember promising to take her. _She could be making it up…_ he reminded himself. _Oh well. I don't need to deny it unless I can't get food there._

"You're taking me to my house first." Amy told him, arising and brushing bits of grass and flower petals and cobalt fur off her dress.

Sonic was beside her in an instant like an eager puppy. "You don't need to worry about those. And are you changing, or what?" He quipped, balancing her in his arms.

"Well, if you want…I think this is good enough." Amy hugged herself to him as he took off running. She realized he was a little slower. She could tell she was in his arms, and that he was actually running, now.

"Well, okay." Sonic scratched his head, trying to eliminate possible places in his head. _Must be someplace casual, if she doesn't want to change…_ "I give up." He huffed in defeat after a few minutes. "Where are you kidnapping me to?"

"My house." Amy told him. "Duh."

"No, no!" He gave a frustrated laugh. "_After_ that. For our date."

"Sonic, I'm cooking you a feast at my house." Worry colored her voice, and her serene eyes. "Are…you okay?"

Sonic felt very stupid right now. And he flushed as his stomach growled ferociously in his chest.

_What you see is what you get._

_***^^^^_

_OKAY so…I updated (finally)! This is pretty short, cause I just wanna get something up. I'm kinda feeling pretty crappy myself lately, so that has been what caused the long time to upload. With any luck, I'll actually have time at home this week, so I can relax and focus on the story! ;D Maybe I'll have another chap up tonight, I dunno._

_Peace!_

_~Sylvie_


	24. Ah, True Pleasure!

_Great! I'm happy today! (those of you familiar with the Japanese dub of Sonic X should be familiar with that line!)_

_Thanks for sticking with me! I'm finally feeling better! Yay!_

_~Sylvie~_

**Part XXIV: Ah, True Pleasure!**

_Talking of Pleasure, this moment I was writing with one hand, and with the other holding to my Mouth a Nectarine -- how good how fine. It went down all pulpy, slushy, oozy, all its delicious embonpoint melted down my throat like a large, beautified Strawberry._

_-__**John Keats**_

_The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse._

_-__**Jules Renard**_

The smell, to him, was a form of torture. It was worse than being chained up and beat half to death.

It almost made the vomiting seem mild! And that was saying something! Sonic figured his latest scourge to be one of the worst in, if not in all history, then at least in his.

"Arrgh!" He moaned, pressing a pillow against his face, his body tense from resisting, his muscles strained as he tried to hold himself back. "Isn't it ready _yet_?! I'm _starving_!!"

"Nope. Meat takes a while to cook." Amy answered, stirring a pot of chili and paging through a book of recipes.

"I'm hungry. This sucks." Sonic complained, moving the pillow away from his mouth so he didn't suffocate, blinding himself with one hand. He could feel his nose darting back and forth, his stomach hurting like a bitch. What was worse was that the growling seemed to affect his whole body. It wasn't a stomach anymore.

It was a frickin _black hole_.

Amy rolled her eyes. She really did feel sorry for him, but she couldn't do much. She slipped the last of the feast into the oven and held the Duplicator in her hand. Tails had lent her the duplicating machine so she could experiment with different recipes without wasting food. It would certainly come in handy for tonight, when a canyon full of food would still leave Sonic feeling peckish!

Of course, that was an exaggeration…she hoped.

"Do you want me to distract you, or something?" Amy wondered, washing the grease off her hands and taking off her apron, replacing her gloves comfortably on her hands.

"I won't do _it_, if that's what you mean. I'm much too hungry to perform properly." Sonic peeped at her from under the blanket he'd pulled over his face.

"_Pervert_!" She snarled, lifting her foot and taking off her boot, tossing it at him, a blow that he quickly ducked away from. "No, I _don't_ mean _**that**_, you dirty-minded blue--"

"Hey, hey," Sonic retrieved the boot and tossed it at her feet. "Easy, Ames. I don't wanna start a fight. I'm _exhausted_." He took off one of his gloves and raised it in surrender. His heart was thumping heavily in his chest, and every move seemed a troublesome labor.

_Poor Sonic_. Amy mused, upset that she'd thought critically of him at all. "I'm sorry." She murmured, accepting the boot and slipping it back over her sock. "Is there…anything that will help? Errrr, besides the obvious?" She added at his critical eye.

Sonic groaned softly and closed his eyes against the pain. He was seriously a bit afraid that he would never get back to normal ever again. What if he didn't ever feel full, feel healthy, again?! What if he was seriously _stuck_ as a _bony_, aching...! No. _I can't drown in this. Amy is cooking a meal. I'll feel fine soon._ That little self-promise gave him confidence, and he sat up again, despite the pain this brought. "Talk to me, I guess. Keep my mind off it."

Amy smiled, glad to see he was of normal temperament, and flopped down at the foot of the couch. "What should we talk about?"

"I dunno. Anything but food."

"I guess that leaves out anything _you're _thinking of."

Sonic glared at her. "That isn't fair to me, now, is it?"

Amy sighed, reaching her hand behind her to touch his shoulder. "No, I guess it isn't." She turned to look at him. "But…that _is_ what you're thinking...isn't it?"

Sonic sighed, and it took Amy a few moments to realize he was crying. Indeed, for the first clear drops of tears were dancing down his muzzle. "Amy, I—no…no it isn't." He reached a trembling, shaking hand up to her cheek and touched it. "I—I was thinking…nothing. Nothing." His gaze flitted away from her again, and he retreated into the couch, hiding under the blanket to keep back the sobs. He didn't even understand why he was sad.

Amy was stunned to a stand-still for a moment. For a while, nothing mattered. Then, she wrapped her arms around his trembling body, how hidden beneath the off-white throw blanket, and hugged him, her head resting on his shoulder. "It's okay, Sonic." She soothed. "I know it hurts, but I'm here. Don't worry. I'm here."

The blue hedgie's eyes shot open, two glowing green gems under the blanket. Her words shocked him, even though they were expected from her. The fact that she had said nothing, except 'it's okay' numbed his body and made the suppressed sobs subside for a minute. She hadn't told him to be strong (what he would've told himself, had he had time to develop more reason—absent, thanks to his hunger) or to get over it, or anything nasty. Not that he would've expected it from her, but still. The words stirred him, and they made his heart warm. A smile crossed his face in bliss.

It didn't matter how he felt in reality, this happiness, this strengthening glee, made him feel as if he was transforming into his demigod alias. The glow was warm, golden. He felt…loved. That made him cry in its own way. His sobs rang out under the covers.

Amy, not knowing these were tears of joy, hugged him harder. The faint beeping of the timer told her the feast was done, and that alone called Amy from his side. Sonic, his sobs choking out of him still, poked out from under the covers to see where she'd gone to.

And then, he smelled the food.

_I know, I know, I promised feasting. Well, I had to put an update to get you all excited, right?_

_Wow, 60 reviews on the nose for this story so far! I'm excited! Maybe I can hit 100? Well, that's up to you guys! So, bring on the reviews! I'm goin for 100!_


	25. Time for Food

**Part XXV: Time for Food**

_This day, I'm giving praise to the lifeblood that keeps my feet moving, my limbs strong, and my innards as warm and gold as Super Sonic._

_Food._

Sonic nearly fell off the couch and hit his head because of the scent! "My gods!" He exclaimed, the sobs disappeared from his enlivened voice. "Could it be? Is my nose lying?" He scrambled off the couch and hurried into the kitchen, Amy laughing at him.

And, to be honest, Sonic was rather an object of laughter just at the moment.

His eyes were wide and wet, the fur on his quills tingling with wild longing, his mouth hung slightly open, his tongue panting like a dog's. His little tail was wagging so ferociously that it seemed to shake his entire body. His gloves were slipping off his hands, and even the features that had been frightening before turned madly hilarious, as in a cartoon.

"My! What a change you've gone through!" Amy gasped through her laughter. "I daresay I can't believe you were crying just moments ago!"

It might've hurt Amy to know this, but Sonic wasn't really paying attention to her at the moment. Her words he heard, yes, but they were unimportant. He was staring at the food. "Amy…how?" He breathed. His stomach crimpled him, and he pressed his palms against it as it rumbled and growled, begging to devour the food. _Quiet, you. _He told it mentally. _You'll be filled soon enough. My gods! I'll sleep!_ True, as, for the most part, Sonic had not really slept much outside of faints for weeks now. This realization crippled him further, and he yawned, starting to look sickly again.

Amy triumphantly produced the Duplicator in pride. "This little invention of Tails'. Good thing for it, too."

"Gods bless the little fox!" Sonic moaned hungrily, turning his wild eyes towards her. "And thank you, too, Amy! Gods bless you!"

The smile disappeared from her face as his eyes met hers. They were terrifying now, and unfitting. More like the desirous eyes of a hungry vampire than a heroic blue hedgehog! He noted her change in mood and flew towards her on the wind.

"Don't worry, dear," he soothed, stroking her cheek with his bony fingertips. "I know my eyes frighten you." His forehead pressed against hers. He felt a little feverish, but that would turn to pleasure warmth in minutes. "They won't be here forever, though! Once I eat, they'll be back to normal." His body moved elegantly against hers, so that they were touching all over, though the pressure was very slight.

"So, eat, then." Amy teased, flicking his nose.

Sonic pulled back in surprise, and rested his lips against hers in a fleeting, yet loving manner before pouncing into the feast. Amy smiled and left the room, the kiss still fresh on her lips.

Sonic could taste chilidogs, and he could feel their warmth in his belly as he chowed down, but he had no idea how much he'd eaten. Taking a breath, he looked hungrily at the mountains of chilidogs, huge cooked turkeys, stuffed chickens, barbeque ribs, and steaks galore all around him. A shiver reverberated throughout his body and he fell upon it again.

He could chew and swallow down the chilidogs easily, and he never got ill from their taste. He was almost upset when they were all gone, but he soon forgot this and set to the ribs and the steaks without thinking much. As he had finished tearing through these, he noted his fingers were no longer bone and his ribs were beginning to disappear. He felt like whooping, but instead his stomach called him to the chickens, and he ate without remorse.

By the time he was finished with these, he was feeling quite overwhelmed. He looked pretty normal now, pallor gone, eyes light and weightless, face filled out, and dark rib lines erased. As he ran his fingers down his thin frame (they filled out his gloves again!), he realized the skin there hurt from being pressed against his ribs for so long. He was upset to find himself nearly content. "Come on, tummy!" He demanded aloud. "You bugged me to exhaustion these months of illness! Do me a favor and give me more room down there! I'm feeling hungry yet!"

A dizzying fit of growling overwhelmed his body, and Sonic fell back for a moment, a headache bothering him. When he'd sat back up, shaking his head to clear it, he laughed. "Okay, that's a _bit_ too much." He admitted jokingly, devouring the turkey nearest to him, forcing the tasty bird down into his gullet and taking down another one. If you were to watch, you would see nothing but a blur, and the food be slowly depleted.

Sonic reached for more turkey, but came up empty handed. He tossed aside his gloves ad sighed. He was still hungry. He wanted to be so full that his stomach would at last complain to a different tune! Then, he smelled chocolate and his eyes lit up.

A delicious chocolate cake and several pies greeted his eyes. Sonic tossed back his head and laughed like a madman, tossing the cake down his throat by the handful and erasing the pies from their pans.

…………………………………..

Sonic burped loudly and reached for his gloves again. He was sleepy, his body finally heavy. He was plump now, stomach stiff and raised and full. It wasn't quite complaining, but the feel was a relief to Sonic.

_I'm tired, but I'm normal. _He smiled. _I got there! I got back to normal! Wait till Amy sees me now!_ He was about to call her, but he decided he was much too sleepy to be disturbed. He slipped out of the kitchen and collapsed into the couch, his snores soft but present, as he slept deeply and dreamed happily of the mounds of food fueling his body now.

_Sonic is full once again, but what will happen now? Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion!_

…_._

_Or…__**will**__ it be the conclusion? Oh well! You'll just have to wait and see! ;P _


	26. Hungry Again

**Part XXVI: Hungry Again**

_Because did you really think the feast would be enough? C'mon, people. Get with it!_

"Oooohh," Sonic moaned, sitting up again. Had he dreamed he ate all that food? He felt starved once again, his stomach growling angrily within him. He pressed his hands there against it and rolled over onto his back.

It seemed he really _had_ eaten all that food, for he felt the skin on his body where it had not been before. **BUT** he was still hungry. Very much so, in fact.

"Oh! My stomach!" He complained, arising from the table, suddenly ravenous. "Food! I need food!" His stomach rumbled as he opened the fridge. Nothing lay within, but for a few soda bottles. Sonic growled angrily, slamming the door closed.

He looked up into the pantry, and found some store-processed cakes. He tore through them like a shredder through paper. He was still desirous. "More!" he laughed manically. "More!"

Before Amy could hinder him (she was asleep), he dashed out the door. He found a grove of banana trees, and robbed the tropical trees of their fruits. He dug up mushrooms from the earth and ate them. He found and devoured apples and oranges, grapes and crabapples. At one point, he even ordered up a dozen chilidogs, complete with chili fries!

Sonic paid and drummed on his tummy. He wasn't plump anymore, but he was back to being streamlined Sonic. Now that he felt more like himself, more under control, he could return to Amy's side.

He dashed back, being careful not to go too fast. He didn't want to go crazy from hunger like he had only a few moments ago. He was feeling pretty stuffed after that mini feast, but just to be sure, he bought an ice cream for the run home. It sat cold and easy in his tummy while he ran to the house of Amy Rose.

While he was gone, Amy had restored order to her kitchen. It was no easy task, but she'd done it. (This will give you an idea of how long Sonic was gone). She had just finished her own meal of vegetarian chili and was about to put it away when a gust of wind caused her to lose her balance.

"Sonic!" She accused, turning on her heel. "How _**dare**_ you—oh!" Amy fushed, covering her mouth.

Sonic looked…amazing. His eyes were alive with youthful vigor, a healthy wetness coloring their centers, giving them their common sheen. His fur was bright and healthy, and even his little black nose seemed brighter! He smiled at her, drumming on his stomach again.

"Sonic…" She breathed, amazed at what one little feast had done. "Sonic…you're…"

"Hmmm," Sonic giggled, ceasing drumming on his belly. "It sounds better now, don't you think? Got a nice, thick tone to it." Even his voice was restored! That cockiness was back, with three times the brightness and glee present there.

Amy squeezed him tight against her body, Sonic laughing as she cried out tears of joy.

_Oooooh, sorry about the length….-_-'_

_This isn't the end! Not yet! There will still be more yet!_

_PS: Did you like Sonic's NEW hit single?! Lol T.T_


	27. Tying Up Loose Ends

_Oooohh, I'm starving! I've got a bit of a high metabolism, and I haven't eaten in three hours! Now I know how Sonic was feeling in the earlier chapters! O.o This is a bad time for me to be writing this chapter…lol_

**Part XXVII: Tying Up Loose Ends**

Amy pulled away from his chest at last, embarrassed that the tan chest fur was now more than a bit damp. "Sorry," she giggled nervously, wiping at her eyes with her wrist. "It's just that--"

"Aww, relax, Ames." Sonic chuckled. "I got it." He winked, offering a smile and a trademark thumbs-up. "Now, I think I could use a soda…" He weaved past her and grabbed a familiar can of root beer from her fridge. He snapped open the top, smiling as he indulged in it. "Mmmm! Wonderful to follow down all that food! Great to wet my whistle!" He laughed at himself, and when his eyes reappeared to hit her head-on, they shone like blinding spotlights on a stage.

"Yes, I know how much you love root beer, so I stocked up…" Amy wrung her hands shyly, and then became more confident in his presence. "You _owe_ me _**big time**_ for helping you with this." Sonic guffawed so swiftly that he almost spit out his soda.

"I agree with _that_!" He responded heartily. "Though, did you really think you were done _yet_?!"

Amy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over his chest, glaring at him. "What do you mean?" Her voice was stern and cautious.

Sonic reached into the pantry and pulled down a few soft oatmeal cookies from a store-bought package. These he ate slowly, but with gusto. "I'll be honest, Ames. The feast made me healthy and strong. It gave me back my proper fur color, and the shininess you see in my coat," he turned around once to show off. Indeed, his coat looked freshly washed. The oils from the meats were doing their duty, it seemed! "Even my eyes are back to normal! Seeing as you don't tremble when you look into em…" She flushed, placing her fists at her lips at the thought that he could tell, at this. "But—and I'm givin' it to you straight, no tricks--" she giggled as he thought it wise to tell her this, "—I've got a pretty high metabolism. Sure I'm not crazy hungry anymore, but I'm achin'. It's mostly here," he rubbed his temple with his palm absently, "but you get the picture. I'm still sufferin'. I'm far from 100%." As he said this, he finished off the cookies. "Man! I could go for a hamburger right about now!"

"It might be programmed into the Duplicator…but you are washing _your own dishes_!" Amy warned, fetching the machine from her apron pocket.

"Ah ha! Fair enough!" Sonic admitted as Amy beamed him up a perfect hamburger as big as his fist and his palm combined. The cobalt hedgehog grabbed onto the food with both hands and took a huge bite. The meat was good and chewy, and just a single bite seemed so filling. But Sonic could feel the rush of dizziness, waiting to pull him back into starvation. No, he knew he wasn't done eating yet. And he could feel that he'd probably be eating nonstop over the course of a few days, pausing only to sleep. He could imagine waking up dizzy and famished.

But, he also knew that food would be readily available to him. With the addition of the Duplicator to Tails' massive family of gadgets…Sonic need never go hungry again!

"You wanna make another one of those for me?" Sonic wondered as the last of the first one disappeared into his tummy.

Amy sighed. "You're going to be complaining of a stomach ache!"

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Sonic teased as he watched the second one (bigger this time. It was about the side of both his hands stretched out!) was formed from what seemed like particles of dust and water. "You wouldn't think the duplicates taste any good, but they do. And better, I think!" He laughed now, as Amy glared at him.

"This is almost too disgusting for words. And, by the way, that was meant as a threat."

Sonic made a little 'bah, who cares' hand motion before chomping heartily into the meat patty. "_OOOOh_, I'm _**SOOOOO**_ scared!" Amy sighed sternly.

"Well, you _should___be!" She snapped. "No one, not even _you_, can seriously eat as much food as you are and walk away without a belly ache!"

"Maybe, but that's kinda what I'm hopin' for." Sonic had polished off half of the hamburger, and muffled a burp into his fist.

"How so?" Amy asked, intrigued.

"Well," Sonic savored another bite before taking a swig of root beer. "Y'see, all during my illness, and for some time after, my belly complained of hunger. The hunger got so bad that it began to hurt me. I would feel those pinpricks to no end, so much so that I couldn't sleep but by fainting, and that every other second, I was craving a filled stomach. You can't imagine how insanely _good_ it feels," he closed his eyes in bliss, pressing a hand against his midsection, "to finally eat! Ahhh, to be truly content! Do you know, that the extent of my hunger affected Super Sonic?" He looked at her, rubbing his chin with his fingers, the hamburger now nothing more than an accessory in his occupied hand.

Amy's eyes grew wide in horror. "It…it _**did**_?!" It wasn't a surprise to him she was so shocked. No condition of his could get in the way of Super Sonic being the strong super entity that he was. After all, he was a demigod! The fact that his illness had greatly affected Super Sonic was only proof at how truly ill, and how truly in need of that strength, Sonic had been, and now was. Sonic nodded to confirm her suspicions, the last of the great hamburger disappearing during this time.

Sonic clapped his hands together in a gesture of definitive finality and burped again, rather loudly. "Ahhh, haha, now I see what you mean! My tummy does feel unnaturally full…" he chuckled, pushing his fur back against his head. "Ah well. It very nearly feels good. Means I'm nice and full after all, hmm, Ames?" He raised his eyes to peek at her, stretching out with a yawn. "Now I need a _huge_ nap! No lie." He rubbed his eyes childishly.

Amy giggled at his cuteness and took her place by his side. "C'mon, you can borrow my bed for tonight. Just don't get scared if you wake up and see me next to you."

Sonic flushed at the suggestion and snorted. "Wouldn't even of crossed my mind…"

"You liar."

"Okay, but only for a second."

She cleared her throat at him, desperately trying to make a point.

"Ah, well…" he rubbed behind his head, embarrassed. "Maybe _two_ seconds."

"_That's_ more like it."

The two settled into a loving silence. Sonic sat on Amy's bed, slipping his shoes off and placing his gloves on the nightstand, delicately turning back the soft pink sheets (which he didn't mind crawling under in the slightest, if it meant he could finally fall deep asleep) and Amy turned her back, heading for the shower.

Presently, Sonic pulled her wrist back towards him, making her face his direction. "What?" She asked with a laugh, noting he was naked but for his socks.

Sonic pulled her down to him and touched her lips to his, holding her face tenderly close to his. This kiss was adorably passionate, and for once, the passion came from Sonic's end. He put into this kiss all the love he really, truly held for her, that he'd selfishly hidden until this apocalypse, all the thanks he owed her, all those times when he'd pondered a kiss good night but never acted on it, for all the dates he was truly sorry he'd missed, whether by accident or purposefully…he put everything he was feeling into that kiss, and Amy just melted against him, content to know that Sonic really, truly, loved her.

When Sonic grunted awake in the early hours of the morning, he rubbed his eyes and yawned, turning over onto his side. He felt and saw Amy's beautiful form lying there beside him in the bed, the coziest arms—and lap, he recalled with a giggle and sigh—in the galaxy, and a heart warmer than his demigod alter-ego's golden glow. And, she had the softest lips…! Softer than Sonic had ever dared to imagine the lips of a female could be! All this, and a big, golden heart, just as he had…it warmed him all the more to find her beside him.

Yawning once more as he was about to go back to sleep, he wrapped his arms around her body as a child cradles a stuffed toy, hugged her to his chest, and with his chin on her shoulder, let the curtain of sleep put his speedy blue form to rest once more.

_The End._


End file.
